Cenbank: Sudan Has Transferred Compensation for U.S. Bombing Victims

Sudan has transferred the compensation it has agreed to pay U.S. victims of militant attacks and their families, the central bank governor said on Tuesday.

The payment of $335 million is part of a deal with the United States to get Sudan removed from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, which has been a hurdle for Khartoum as it sought debt relief and external borrowing.

Sudan has transferred the required amount, bank governor Mohamed al-Fatih Zainelabidine told a news conference.​ Acting Finance Minister Hiba Mohamed Ali also said that Sudan needed to accelerate the adjustment of its foreign exchange rate.

Sudan is in the midst of an economic crisis that has accelerated since the overthrow of Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir last year.

Thanks to U.S. sanctions going back to the 1990s, Sudan has been largely cut off from the international banking system. But Zainelabidine said local banks would restore correspondence relations next week following the U.S. move.

The Sudanese pound has fallen on the black market to 220 versus the dollar, while the official exchange rate is around 55. But since the U.S. announcement on Monday the pound has gained from 250 the day before on the black market.

Ali gave no details on the future foreign exchange policies.