President Salva Kiir has written to the suspects and foreign governments to return the money.

South Sudan's President, Salva Kiir has accused serving and former government officials of stealing at least Four billion US dollars (about FCFA 2,096 billion) from state resources. The BBC reported that he has written to 75 current and former senior employees, asking for the unaccounted money to be returned.

In the letter, President Kiir says people in South Sudan are suffering and yet some government officials simply care about themselves. He explains that most of the funds have been taken out of the country and deposited in foreign accounts. Some of the suspected embezzlers, he said, have purchased property abroad; often paid in cash. The South Sudan Tribune newspaper quoted him as saying in a statement that his move was part of his government’s measures to end corruption and strengthen transparency and accountability in the newly independent country.

President Salva Kiir promised that if the thieves returned the money, the government will grant them amnesty and their names kept confidential. Only he and one other official will have access to this information, he pledged.

The statement also disclosed that Kiir has written to eight Heads of State seeking their assistance in recovering the funds. The money is reportedly being kept in some African countries, the United States, the Middle East and Europe.

The press quoted the Information Minister, Barnaba Benjamin as saying since the letters were sent out last month, about 60 million US dollars (about FCFA 31.6 billion) has already been recovered. The Minister told Reuters news agency that the money went missing in a well-publicised scandal involving the staple crop, sorghum. Bogus companies were paid by government but never delivered the grain. Police investigations have been going on since 2009 and some of the suspects have already been arrested. South Sudan got its independence from Sudan in July 2011.