They had been arrested and placed under mandat de dépôt by the Division of Criminal Investigations (DIC) in the framework of the investigation into the controversial management of food aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rayam Hachem, Moustapha Ndiaye and Mouhamed Dieng were charged with complicity in the misappropriation of public funds, as well as forgery in commercial and private documents. The dossier has taken another turn. In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, “Me Abdoul Birane WANE, Advocate at the Court, counsel to Moustapha NDIAYE, Rayan HACHEM and Mohamed DIENG, is immediately given notice”. The Doyen des Juges d’Instruction rendered, on 31 October 2025, an order of non-lieu in the said procedure. At the heart of this dossier was the distribution of rice bags intended for vulnerable populations. Massive irregularities were found both in the award of contracts and in the execution of deliveries. It should be recalled that Rayam Hachem had paid a caution of a far-reaching amount of 1 billion 825 million CFA francs.
The case of the “surfacturation” of rice: the investigating judge pronounces un non-lieu
