Algeria: “2019 Anti-Corruption Year… And Fall Of The Gang”

2019 is considered an anti-corruption year with distinction, given the unprecedented measures taken to root out this nefarious phenomenon, especially on the part of the justice system which strove to round up and prosecute former high-ranking government officials and businessmen in a precedent that is the first of its kind in the history of Algeria.

Since the beginning of the popular protest movement on February 22, the state has shown determination and eagerness to respond to the people’s demands regarding fighting corruption and holding those involved in the looting of public funds and harming the national economy from ministers, former governors and businessmen accountable before justice.

In a unique precedent in the history of independent Algeria, justice has moved its mechanisms and launched, since last May, in-depth investigations into many files and corruption cases in which many former officials were involved, after which a number of legal judgments were issued against them.
In this regard, the Court of Sidi M’hamed in Algiers, at the beginning of this December, issued a sentence of 15 and 12 years in prison, respectively, against the first two former ministers, Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, on charges of wasting public funds, granting undue privileges and misusing the position in the automobile assembly case. The latter were also were fined 100 million centimes for the same charges.

The same Court also issued a 20-year prison sentence in absentia against the former Minister of Industry, Abdessalem Bouchaoureb (who is on the run overseas), and an international arrest warrant was issued against him, while former industry minister Youcef Yousfi was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Moreover, the former Minister of Industry, Mahjoub Bida got a 10 year prison sentence and a verdict of 5 years imprisonment was handed down against the former Wali or Governor of Boumerdes, Nouria Yamina Zerhouni.

The court of Sidi M’hamed also ruled 7 years in prison against the two businessmen Ali Haddad and Ahmed Mazouz, who got 6 years in prison and a fine of 600 million centimeters against businessman Hassan Arbaoui ,and 3 years in prison against the businessman Mohamed Bairi, 5 years in prison for his secretary, and 3 years in prison for Abboud Achour, two years ( 2) Imprisonment for Mahmoud Chaid and Hadj Saeed, while the son of the former Prime Minister, Faris Sellal, was condemned to 3 years in prison.

On the other hand, judicial orders were also issued to place a number of former government officials and businessmen under judicial control by withdrawing the passport of the accused who are required to sign once a month in front of the investigating judge.

Among them are former Judicial Minister of Transport and Public Works Abdelghani Zaàlane, who faced charges of intentionally granted to others unjustified privileges, misuse of the job, conflicts of interests and bribery, and an order was issued to place each of the former Finance Minister Karim Djoudi under judicial supervision after being accused of abuse of the job and the squandering of public funds, as well as the former Minister of Transport Ammar Tou, who was charged with the misdemeanors of granting unjustified privileges to others and abusing the job, as well as the former governor of Algiers, Abdelkader Zoukh, who has been under the judicial control system since the middle of last June, in addition to the former governor of Skikda province, Ben Hocine Fawzi, who is in the same position.

The course of these trials would not have taken this direction had it not been for the escort of the vigilant high command of the National People’s Army ANP of the justice system, led by the late Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah who had worked relentlessly over the past months to root out the nefarious gang, stressing that “the success of fighting the corruption scourge is an integral part of the sincerity of the ANP’s comprehensive escort of the Algerian people and all Institutions of the Algerian state”.

And since the fight against corruption was one of the most prominent demands of the popular protest movement, the new President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was elected President of the country on December 12th 2019, confirmed in his first statements that “corruption does not warrant the presidential pardon,” stressing that the “campaign to fight against corruption and the corrupt will continue unabated,” noting that “the anti-corruption law will remain in effect”.