This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from a U4 Partner Agency. The U4 Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International in collaboration with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre based at the Chr. Michelsen Institute.
Query
Please provide an overview of corruption and anti-corruption in Sudan, with a focus on corruption risks in agriculture, energy and environment, and obstacles that sustainability initiatives in these sectors are facing.
Summary
Omar al-Bashir’s thirty-year rule transformed Sudan into a kleptocratic state where public resources were systematically diverted to regime cronies, family members and armed actors. A transitional civilian-military government was formed after his ousting in 2019 but was disrupted by a military coup in 2021. The failure to agree on a new governance structure led to the outbreak of civil war in April 2023. Military and paramilitary actors now dominate key sectors of the economy through vast networks of affiliated companies with preferential access to public funds and resources. Agriculture, the energy sector and the environment are vulnerable to corruption, marked by land grabbing, secretive investment deals, diversion of state funds and institutional capture that enables environmental degradation.
Contents
- Background
- Extent of corruption
- Forms of corruption
- State capture
- Petty corruption
- Focus areas
- Agriculture
- Energy
- Environment
- Legal and institutional framework
- International conventions and initiatives
- Domestic legal framework
- Institutional framework
- Other stakeholders
- References
Authors
Miloš Resimić
Reviewers
Caitlin Maslen (TI)
Emily Wegener (TI DS)
Munzoul Assal (CMI)
Date
27/05/2025
