The former head of Burundi’s central bank has been detained on accusations of misappropriating public funds and money laundering.
According to the justice ministry, Dieudonné Murengerantwari’s charges are “provisional” pending the results of the investigations.
The accusations have not yet received a response from Mr. Murengerantwari.
Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye sacked him on Sunday, barely over a year after he took office.
Burundi’s economy is in serious difficulty, with a lack of foreign money making imports impossible.
In recent years, it has also been affected by fuel shortages and price increases, which have exacerbated the cost of living crisis.
According to the World Bank, around 65% of the 12 million-person population lives in poverty.
In a statement, the justice ministry accused Mr Murengerantwari of “undermining the proper functioning of the national economy, passive corruption, money laundering and misappropriation of public assets”.
Mr Murengerantwari was appointed to the post – which is vital to achieving economic stability – for five years, but was dismissed in his second year in office.
He was previously the managing director of Burundi’s state-linked development bank.
He has been replaced by a member of the bank’s board, Édouard Normand Bigendako.
Mr Murengerantwari is the second central bank chief in Africa to run into legal trouble this year.
Nigeria’s central bank governor Godwin Emefiele was suspended in June, and later charged with illegally owning a shotgun and cartridges. He denied the charges.
