Disappearance of Kuwait’s $5M Donation for Victims of Terrorism

The economic and financial penal pole of Sidi M’hamed, Algiers, opened an investigation into the embezzlement of funds destined for victims of terrorism, which the Emir of Kuwait granted to the late president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to help this category of citizens so that he transferred it to the Ministry of Solidarity, Family and National Community Abroad during the era of the former Minister Djamel Ould Abbas.

Echorouk got exclusive details about this file, including that investigative judge of the Fifth Chamber of the Economic and Financial Criminal Court of Sidi M’hamed heard on Thursday, March 16th, the former Minister Djamel Ould Abbas about the facts of the case represented in a check of $5 Million that was granted by Emir of Kuwait to the late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as an aid from the State of Kuwait for the victims of the black decade, but this check has completely disappeared.

Former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika summoned Djamel Ould Abbas in his capacity as Minister of Solidarity and the Family and gave him the “check” to deposit it in the bank account designated to help victims of terrorism. However, a full year after handing over the $5 million check to the ministry, the Presidency of the Republic requested that it must be returned to it, according to what Djamel Ould Abbas stated in the minutes of his hearing by the investigative judge of the Fifth Chamber of the Economic and Financial Pole, who showed the receipt of the check that was received by the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika personally, but the money has disappeared to this day, so Ould Abbas is followed up on charges of “embezzlement”.

The investigations into this file mixed up Ould Abbas’s statements, as after the search orders issued by the economic and financial penal pole of Sidi M’hamed for the personal deposits treasury of Ould Abbas, which he opened at the bank level, the judicial police services were able during the inspection to find more than DZD 2 billion in the national and hard currencies “the euro and the dollar”, and the inspection is still going on until now.

It is expected that the investigation will continue into the course of the funds granted by Kuwait to Algeria in the context of aiding the victims of terrorism, but these funds have completely disappeared and have been embezzled without accountability or control, either in the Mouradia Palace or the Ministry of Solidarity.

It is known that the former Minister of Solidarity and Family, Djamel Ould Abbas, is jailed after being convicted to 8 years in prison and a fine of DZD 1 Million, on charges of squandering public funds, concluding deals in violation of the applicable legislation, abuse of position and forgery of public documents.