Financial Planning in Sudan: A Guide for Expats and International Investors

Sudan is a country of enormous complexity: in geographic scale (one of Africa's largest countries), in historical depth (the ancient Nubian civilisations of the Nile), in natural resource wealth (gold, oil, agricultural land), and in political and humanitarian tragedy. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in one of the world's largest displacement crises. For this reason, this guide must be read in its correct context: it is written primarily for members of the Sudanese diaspora managing legacy financial connections to the country, for development finance professionals involved in humanitarian response and eventual reconstruction, and for investors positioning for a possible future stabilisation scenario. It is not a relocation guide in the conventional sense. Professional, legal, and security advice is essential. Nothing in this guide constitutes a recommendation to travel to Sudan.

Current Situation and Context

As of June 2026, active conflict continues across large parts of Sudan including Khartoum, Darfur, and other regions. The conflict has caused mass displacement, infrastructure destruction, and severe disruption to the Sudanese economy, banking system, and government services. The Sudanese pound has collapsed further under wartime conditions. International organisations, foreign embassies, and most commercial international companies have suspended or significantly curtailed operations.

This guide therefore addresses:

1. The formal Sudanese financial and tax framework as it stood before the conflict, for legacy compliance reference.
2. The specific challenges facing diaspora members with family wealth and property in Sudan.
3. Forward-looking considerations for reconstruction-phase investment.

Tax Residency and Income Tax: Pre-Conflict Framework

Sudan operates (or formally operated) a territorial tax system with elements of residence-based taxation. The Sudanese taxation system is administered under the Income Tax Act and related legislation. Resident individuals are subject to income tax on Sudan-source income. Foreign-source income of Sudanese residents has historically been subject to limited taxation under the territorial system.

Personal income tax rates are progressive with a top rate of approximately 35 per cent on the highest income band. Tax administration was centralised through the Sudan Tax Chamber and various state-level revenue authorities (Sudan is a federal state with both federal and state-level taxation). The practical enforcement capacity has been severely disrupted by the 2023 conflict.

Banking and Foreign Exchange

Sudan's banking sector was already severely constrained before the 2023 conflict by decades of US sanctions (the comprehensive US Sudan sanctions regime was eased from January 2017 under the Obama administration and permanently revoked in October 2017). The Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) had been attempting reform; the conflict has destroyed significant banking infrastructure in Khartoum.

The Sudanese pound (SDG) had already been subject to chronic devaluation and had undergone restructuring and denomination changes in recent years. Wartime conditions have further eroded monetary stability.

Sudan's banking sector operates on Islamic finance principles (interest-bearing products are not offered in the conventional sense; profit-sharing and Murabaha structures are used instead). This requires specific understanding from clients more familiar with conventional banking structures.

Access to hard currency in Sudan is severely restricted. Formal remittances to Sudan have been routed through a combination of banking channels (where available), money transfer operators, and informal hawala networks. The Central Bank's capacity to facilitate formal currency flows has been impaired.

US Sanctions History: Sudan's removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in 2020 and the parallel lifting of most OFAC sanctions was a significant development. UK sanctions on Sudan are more targeted; designated individuals and entities associated with the previous Bashir regime and subsequently with conflict actors have been listed. UK investors and diaspora members must check current OFSI and OFAC designations before any financial transaction.

Investment Themes: Gold and Agriculture

Sudan's principal natural resource themes are:

• Gold: Sudan is one of Africa's largest gold producers; artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) accounts for a large share of production. Major gold operations include those conducted by the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company and international joint ventures. The sector has been disrupted by conflict but remains strategically significant.
• Agricultural land: Sudan has some of the most fertile agricultural land on the Nile and in rain-fed areas, and has attracted long-term interest from Gulf Cooperation Council countries (particularly Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar) in food security investment — large agricultural concessions for grain, sugar, and livestock.
• Nile River irrigation and water rights: Sudan's position as the Nile's second-largest riparian state (after Egypt) is geopolitically significant; water issues affect agricultural potential and diplomatic relations with Ethiopia (GERD dam).

For HNW investors, direct participation in these sectors during active conflict is not appropriate. Positioning for the reconstruction phase — through development finance instruments, DFI co-investment opportunities, and targeted private equity — is a longer-term theme that requires monitoring rather than immediate action.

Diaspora Property and Legacy Assets

The Sudanese diaspora — concentrated in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the USA, the UK, and other European countries — frequently maintains property and family assets in Sudan. The conflict has:

• Made physical inspection of properties impossible in many areas.
• Disrupted title registration and property administration.
• Created significant looting and destruction risk for residential and commercial properties.
• Suspended rental income flows or made collection and repatriation of rental proceeds impractical.

For diaspora members, key actions include:

• Documenting title and ownership through whatever records are accessible (copies held abroad are important).
• Maintaining contact with trusted local contacts or legal representatives where possible.
• Registering with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and monitoring travel advisories.
• Not remitting funds to Sudan through informal channels in ways that could breach sanctions or UK AML regulations.
• Keeping property insurance documentation current where any valid coverage exists.

UK Pension Implications

There is no double taxation agreement between the United Kingdom and Sudan. UK state pension entitlements are unaffected by Sudanese residence. UK private pensions are taxed in the UK at source. The practical challenge for Sudan-resident individuals with UK pension entitlements is primarily logistical: receiving payments reliably through functional banking channels.

UK-Sudan Double Taxation Agreement

No DTA between the United Kingdom and Sudan is in force. UK-source income received by Sudanese residents is subject to UK withholding at standard domestic rates; Sudanese-source income received by UK residents is subject to UK income tax with only unilateral foreign tax credit relief available.

Reconstruction Outlook

Sudan's reconstruction, when it comes, will require massive international investment across all sectors: infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, water, energy, and telecommunications. The precedent of South Sudan's separation in 2011, Iraq's reconstruction, and Mozambique's peace process all provide reference points — though each situation is distinct.

Development finance institutions — including the African Development Bank, World Bank, EU Emergency Trust Fund (successor structures), and UK's British International Investment — are likely to be among the first institutional investors in Sudanese reconstruction. Multilateral bond instruments, co-investment structures, and diaspora bonds may provide routes for HNW investors to participate in a reconstruction theme without direct frontier market exposure.

For now, the appropriate approach is to monitor, document legacy interests carefully, and engage with specialist advisers who follow Sudan's political situation closely.

How Global Investments Can Help

Global Investments works with Sudanese diaspora members in the UK who are navigating the financial planning implications of the current conflict: managing legacy UK tax obligations, preserving cross-border wealth in jurisdictions accessible to them, understanding the implications of Sudan-connected assets in estates, and positioning for eventual reconstruction investment through compliant and appropriate structures. We do not advise on transactions that breach applicable sanctions regimes. We coordinate with specialist international lawyers for Sudan-specific legal matters.

This guide reflects our understanding of the law and practice as of June 2026. Sudan's political, security, and regulatory environment is subject to rapid and material change. Nothing in this guide constitutes legal, tax, or security advice. Always seek independent specialist advice, including current security assessments, before making any financial decisions involving Sudanese-connected assets or income.