Hmeida was accused of committing "serious crimes that affect the essential economic interests of the country", Mauritania's chief state prosecutor, Mohamed Bouya Ould Nahi, said in a statement released late last night.
The former minister was sent to t prison in the capital Nouakchott to await trial, but no date had been set.
Woodside operates the country's Chinguetti oil development, which is due to come on stream next month.
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