Algerian justice confirmed the sentences handed down at first instance against the former Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia and the former Minister of Public Works and Transport, Abdelghani Zaâlane for their involvement in corruption cases in the tourism sector in Skikda ( 500 km east of Algiers).
In the context of this case, the Court sentenced Ouyahia to a seven-year prison sentence with a fine of one million dinars, and Abdelghani Zaâlane to a three-year prison sentence and a fine of ‘one million dinars.
As for the sentence of the former Minister of Public Works and Transport, Amar Ghoul, it was hardened from 3 to 4 years and was ordered to pay the same fine.
The prison sentence of the former wali Mohamed Bouderbali was also hardened to 7 years in prison and a 2 million DA fine. The Court confirmed the sentence handed down at first instance against the investor Ben Fassih Mohamed, sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of one million dinars.
The same court also handed down a two-year prison sentence with a fine of one million dinars against the ex-walis of Skikda Fawzi Ben Hocine and Derfouf Hadjri.
These corruption trials in the automobile assembly sector and the “occult” financing of Bouteflika’s electoral campaign in 2019, concern a total of fifteen personalities, including former ministers, magnates and senior officials.
This group also includes the former president of the Algerian Patronage, Ali Haddad, who saw his sentence reduced from seven to four years in prison.
As a reminder, according to official figures, this automobile scandal resulted in a loss for the public treasury estimated at more than 128 billion dinars (975 million euros).
