Corruption in Customs Inflicts $7 billion Loss to Treasury in 2001

Minister of Finance, Karim Djoudi, said he is due to hold a meeting with the general director of Customs to decide on a couple of cases, including that of the fired customs officers over corruption charges dating back to 2001.

Mr Karim Djoudi said “In case the concerned were abusively fired, there would be a positive solution, in conformity with the law.”

The minister was responding to a question of MP Mohamed Mehdi Gacemi Hasni, on the fate of the report filed by the former general director of Customs, to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, evoking financial scandals inside the corridors of the Customs Department. 

The report, to recall, mentioned a couple of corruption cases, including a gang specialized in the fraud of money and embezzlement of funds abroad; the import of ferrous and non ferrous metal wastes; in addition to the import of household stuffs. These three affairs inflicted around 7 billion US dollar loss to the public treasury, an enough budget to build 100 thousand houses. 

The minister said the first case was handled by justice in January 2004, during which 239 people were sued, and lead to recouping 6117 billion DZD, as 4000 files have been examined until this year.   

Concerning the second case, Mr Djoudi said it was disclosed after an investigation of customs of Algeria and France, leading to the examination of 2034 files from 1994 to 1997, and 899 files from 1998 to 2000, before referring the case to the Criminal Court of Algiers. He noted that 12 suspect customs officers have been summoned early December to be heard by the judge for next criminal session. 

Finally, the third case was divulged in 2000, and still on the Justice table, the minister said; but the MP was not convinced by this answer, “regarding that it inflicted the public treasury huge sum, representing the fifth of 2012 budget of the North African nation.”