Former Public Works Minister, His Family Face Corruption Prosecution

The Prosecutor of the Republic at the penal pole specialized in financial and economic corruption files of Sidi M’hamed Court in Algiers, requested, on Wednesday, the imposition of a penalty of 16 years in prison and dzd 3 million fine against the former Minister of Public Works, Abdelkader Kadi, in his capacity as the governor of Ain Defla Wilaya, and requested the imposition of a penalty of 7 years in prison and a dzd 3 million fine against his wife, son and daughter-in-law, accompanied by the accused “B.Ch”, the brother of Abdelkader Kadi’s wife.

The defendants in this corruption case were charged with accusations related to misdemeanours of money laundering, illegal enrichment, false declaration of property, concealment of proceeds obtained from corruption crimes, and violation of legislation and regulation related to the exchange and movement of capital to and from abroad after it was discovered that they possessed huge properties and real estate in France and Algeria without declaring their source. Likewise, the former Minister of Agriculture, Abdelkader Kadi, received significant sums of money through his bank account in the name of foreign and Arab companies, without justification.

Before seeking the aforementioned sentences, the prosecutor of the republic revealed, during his pleading, that the defendants had committed serious incidents affecting the national economy, which was proven by the security investigations launched in France in 2019 after a correspondence issued by the French Minister of Justice addressed to his Algerian counterpart to request international assistance within the framework of cooperation between the international judicial services, regarding the existence of judicial follow-ups against Kadi Abdelkader, his wife, and members of his family related to money laundering, embezzlement of public funds, tax fraud, and corruption crimes.

The French financial information cell, which informed the prosecutor of the republic in Paris of the existence of unjustified financial transfers, revealed that two bank accounts were opened in France in the name of Kadi Abdelkader and his wife, without administrative declaration.

The investigations also revealed that the defendants own real estate in France, including three apartments in Paris, one registered in the name of his wife, in addition to real estate and luxury villas in Algiers, Oran, and farms in Ain Defla.

The prosecutor of the republic added that “during the investigation, it was found that there were financial transfers in France to two private accounts of Kadi and his wife, amounting to more than 30,000 euros, which were poured into the private bank accounts of Kadi Abdelkader to his son-in-law called “B.Ch” using 7 bank checks, and more than 20,000 euros from a French company using 3 checks in 2014, and the amount of 23,000 euros for transfers that were through the so-called “A.S” With 4 checks and 16,000 euros through “M.W”, with 3 checks and more than 31,000 euros in the name of a company based in the Arab Emirates”.

He concluded that “all these sums are not justified by the accused, who declared at the hearing that he did not remember anything, and the Public Prosecutor asked Abdelkader Kadi and his family members about the source of all those properties but they could not justify their sources because they suspiciously possessed them while refusing to declare them before the official authorities”.