13 Import Companies Sell Fraudulent Gold To Algerians, Smuggle €15 Million

Services of the Subsequent Monitoring and Fraud Control of Customs opened wide investigations into the importation of a very high quantity of “fraudulent” gold, both in terms of quality or balance that is authorized in the invoice from an Arab country, where the concerned importers managed to smuggle more than 15 million euros or DZD 200 billion only in two years.

Details of the case, according to official sources in the General Directorate of Customs, who told Echorouk, that it returns back to the end of last September, following the receipt of confirmed information to these services about subsequent control and counter fraud, about the activity of a number of importers who are smuggling funds to banks in the Gulf under the cover of the import of significant quantities of fraudulent gold from an Arab country, and make false statements to the customs both in terms of quality and balance, stating that the gold of 14-c on the basis that it was 18-caliber with false invoices.

Exploiting available information, the same sources add that the Directorate of Control released 19 records of 13 gold import companies that are operating across the entire national territory, which were transferred to justice after the preliminary investigations, and showed that they were involved in the case of importing “fraudulent” gold, as part of the investigation involving all the gold import companies in Algeria.

Investigations also showed that the suspected gold importers were getting huge profits, due to the difference between the price of the currency on the black market and the official price.

These importers also sold the imported gold at the user’s price, which is less than the locally produced gold because it was originally fraudulent, which is imported to the seller until he collects the difference in hard currency and registers it on the basis that he sold it in Algeria, with aliases because the matter does not matter to him as long as he is a winner.

Statistics that were obtained by Echorouk indicate that the Directorate of Subsequent Control and Fraud Control is investigating 123 cases of smuggling foreign currency, and recorded it during the months of August and September alone, while the number of cases of smuggling foreign currency during the first half of the current year reaches 420 cases that were recorded in all sectors, and were referred to justice for investigation, against fines amounting to DZD 63 billion.