Algeria Recovers Its Property In France

Algeria managed to recover properties abandoned or donated to relatives and friends of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in France.

Jeune Afrique website revealed that the Algerian ambassador to France, Mohamed Antar Daoud, managed to recover 44 properties of the Algerian state that were occupied by persons close to the resigning President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, represented in castles, real estate and private buildings in Paris.

The website quoted Ambassador Antar Daoud as saying that there are at least 44 properties out of 46 that were retrieved, without revealing the list of these properties and their locations.

The inventory and investigations show that people close to Bouteflika were obtaining large concessions illegally for a full 18 years, from 2001 to 2019, that is, about two years after the former president took over the reins of power in the country.

Among the properties recovered belong to the embassy, apartments and diplomatic cards owned by Mohamed Bedjaoui, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2005-2007), and other financial compensation for the rent.

The site stated that Algeria recovered two apartments located in an elegant neighbourhood in Paris (perhaps the 16th arrondissement) with an area of more than 160 square meters, the first inhabited by a former member of the National Assembly close to Bouteflika, and the second inhabited by an MP, but no name was mentioned by the source.

In Marseille, Algeria also recovered the 320-hectare fortress, which was built in 1639 and includes a chapel. It was abandoned before it was occupied by an association of pieds noirs, which was eventually expelled.

The same is true in the Drome (southern France) where another fortress (La pérouze) was recently recovered, after a long legal process initiated by the Algerian consulate in Lyon.

“The castles in France do not generate a lot of money, in addition to their expensive maintenance, it is better to recover hundreds of apartments that ministers and personalities bought with corruption money in the luxurious neighbourhoods of Paris”, Jeune Afrique wrote.

Previously, in August 2020, Algeria sent a judicial delegation to France as part of the investigations into properties held by Algerian businessmen abroad and former officials, and efforts to recover money stolen during previous years.

The French magazine “Le Point” reported that the Algerian Justice Ministry sent a request to its French counterpart for a judicial delegation to reveal the properties of dozens of officials close to the former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in France.

The magazine added that the information that Algeria requested is not only related to tax evasion files but goes far beyond that.