Abdelmoumène Rafik Khalifa to be transferred to Blida prison on Thursday

The prime defendant in the mega Khalifa financial scandal case, Abdelmoumène Rafik Khalifa, now detained in Algeria, is expected to be transferred from the El Harrach to the Blida prison, 50 km west of Algiers on Thursday, according to judicial sources.

The rest of the detainees accused in the case were transferred from their respective prisons starting from mid-April over several stages. The defendant Kechad Belaid was for his part transferred to the Blida prison on April 18 from his Bou Saada detention center for the same purpose.

Well-informed sources told “Echorouk” that the Blida criminal court senior magistrates have started minute preparations for the upcoming court proceedings by retaining the court-room number 1 where the trial will be held involving Rafik Khalifa as a key defendant  together with 75 other accused with 6 of them now being in detention in Algeria.

Last October, Abdelmoumène Rafik Khalifa was sentenced in absentia to five-year imprisonment by the Tribunal of Nanterre (France).

The defendant, currently in jail in Algeria, was found guilty of organizing the “looting” of the company just before its liquidation, “by emptying it from some of its most significant assets,” including properties and luxury cars.

In 2007, the former businessman was also sentenced in absentia by the Criminal Court of Blida, to life imprisonment, notably on charges of conspiracy and fraudulent bankruptcy.