Algerian Officials, Their Relatives Receive $3 million Bribes From Two Spanish Companies

Spanish National Court in Madrid accused two Spanish institutions with giving bribes and corruption in exchange of winning deals and projects in Algeria, after the payment of nearly three million euros as bribes to Algerian officials and members of their families and relatives to facilitate the victory of ELECNOR and ALCISA companies in the project of Ouergla tramway (southern Algeria), which financial value is 230 million euros.

Spanish newspaper “El Mundo” published, on Monday, that the two Spanish companies took advantage of the cell that was created by each of the former Spanish Ambassador to India, Gustavo de Aristegui, and the former MP, Pedro Laserna, in order to pay bribes and kickbacks to Algerian public officials and their relatives, in exchange for facilitating negotiations and help the two Spanish Elecnor and Alcisa to win a tender of Ouergla tramway project.

Same source, published the news on its first page, on Tuesday, saying that a memo of the judge of National Court, José de Lamata, dated September, , officially accused these two companies of bribery, corruption, money laundering and being members of an international criminal organisation, explaining that 3 million euros, or more than 35 billion centimes, were paid to the Algerian officials and their relatives in order to win the deal of Ouergla tramway.

El Mundo added that the bribes’ funds flowed to the Algerian officials in batches and to different destinations, as the payment was made through a company in the Netherlands and the other in Dubai called “Erfaa Commercial Brokers”, as a mediator, Tommy Cristobal, who owned the consulting company in Panorama district in Kouba (Algiers), sent an e mail to the former MP De la Serna, saying: “Money is necessary”, and he meant the Algerian officials and their relatives in the Algerian state company.”

A memorandum of the National Court judge shows that there is an impact of remittances, because he never understood how the fee or charge in the Emirate of Dubai, is paid for a work that was originally done in Algeria.