Former Algerian Energy Minister Chekib Khelil, his wife and his two sons were charged in the “Sonatrach 2″ corruption case and international warrants were issued for their arrest two weeks ago.
Court of Algiers Prosecutor-General Belkacem Zoghmati unveiled the indictment on Monday (August 12th). The charges relate to corruption, money-laundering, irregularities in the award of contracts, abuse of office and the creation of organised criminal gangs.
“It is a real octopus whose tentacles extend everywhere,” Zoghmati commented.
The court has now brought charges against 20 individuals plus two legal entities – Italian firm Saipem and Egyptian firm Orascom Industries. Although the prosecutor did not reveal the rest of the names, he did confirm that charges were brought against Farid Bedjaoui, the nephew of former Foreign Minister Mohamed Bedjaoui and the alleged main intermediary in the affair, and that an international warrant has been issued for his arrest.
According to the prosecutor, the judge who is presiding over the investigation summoned Khelil. The latter confirmed receipt of this summons in a handwritten letter received by the prosecutor’s office on May 13th. In it, he claimed that he was in the US, that he was sick and that his doctor had instructed him to rest for two months. He enclosed a medical certificate with his letter.
However, three months have now passed and Khelil has not appeared, leading to the international arrest warrant. The judicial investigation has established that there was a global network that took bribes in exchange for contracts with Sonatrach. Colossal sums were allegedly charged by intermediaries who were officials at the energy ministry or Sonatrach.
The Algerian courts have taken a number of steps pending the outcome of the investigation, which include freezing or seizing the assets of the individuals who have been charged and sealing off their properties.
“The investigation is only just beginning and it is moving at a considerable pace. The results of the letters of request have helped to speed up the investigation and expand its scope,” Zoghmati said.
It is also possible that new developments will emerge once the first replies have been received to the letters of request sent to Asian countries, including those concerning assets placed in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai.
The prosecutor said that the Algerian judiciary was not under any pressure and was working calmly and “slowly but surely”. His position is that haste is the enemy of justice.
It remains to be seen whether the individuals who have been charged and are in hiding overseas, including Khelil, can one day be extradited so that they can stand trial in Algeria. The Algerian prosecutor was optimistic and confident in this regard.
The announcement that an international arrest warrant was issued for Khelil came amid a detailed judicial process aimed at getting to the bottom of claims concerning bribes for gas and oil contracts in Algeria. The charges come just after an investigation relating to another case, the so-called “Sonatrach 1″ affair, in which the group’s former CEO, Mohamed Meziane, and vice-presidents were implicated.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a close childhood friend of the former energy minister, said in February that he would not “be silent” about the Sonatrach scandals.
“These reports disgust us and meet with our disapproval, but I trust this nation’s judiciary to get to the bottom of them in order to work out who was responsible and to apply, rigorously and firmly, the penalties prescribed by our laws,” the president said.
In early July, Justice Minister Mohamed Charfi said that “90 per cent of the people implicated in the ‘Sonatrach 2′ affair have been identified.”
Charfi would not reveal any names but did say that “the persons involved will face the full force of the law. No one will escape justice.”
By Magharebia
August 16, 2013
By Nazim Fethi
Eurasia Review
