Judicial Investigation In A Large Financial Transfer To Luxembourg By An AOIC’s Official

A judicial investigation is conducted against the former adviser of the National Office of Cereals, Hassaine Abderrahmane, in a large corruption case related to huge financial transfers to Luxembourg, estimated at 1.9 million euros, the Public Prosecutor of the National Economic and Financial Pole Court, Sidi M’hamed, Mr Kara Chaker, said.

The facts of the case, according to what was revealed by the public prosecutor of the National Economic and Financial Pole Court, Kara Chaker, in a press conference Tuesday, back to November 2020, after receiving information within the framework of international cooperation that a person of Algerian nationality transferred suspicious financial transfers to Luxembourg and the matter related to the suspect H.A, 61, who held several positions in the Algerian Professional Office of Cereals, the most recent of which was Director of Foreign Trade from 2013 to 2020, Inspector General, Adviser at the National Office of Cereals, and member of the Transactions Committee.

“This official made huge financial transfers from Algeria and through his accounts in Luxembourg amounting to more than 1.9 million euros, and it turned out that the concerned person travelled a lot from Algeria to Paris and Luxembourg at a rate of once a month, and as a result, a judicial investigation was opened by the Economic Chamber for the Security of Algeria, which revealed the suspect’s significant properties and accounts”, he added.

“The investigating judge at the Specialized Criminal Court of Sidi M’hamed, ordered the security services to arrest the suspect and place him in temporary detention pending investigation with him on charges of illicit enrichment, granting unjustified privileges in the field of public deals, the movement of capital to and from abroad, and the conclusion of suspicious deals”.

The judicial investigation shows that the suspect (H.A) owns several real estate in Algeria and bank accounts abroad, and as a result, international judicial assignments were issued to list all the looted and transferred properties abroad.

The public prosecutor explained in his answer to the press that the investigation has not yet disclosed the list of those involved with him pending the completion of the judicial investigations, and confirmed the establishment of the National Office of Cereals as a civil party in the case due to the damage it suffered, as for the accused’s relationship with the imported adulterated wheat scandal, the state attorney at the Specialized Pole Court said that he is not concerned with it.

Upon inspection of the suspect’s home, it was found that he possessed DZD 320 million and sums of money in hard currency in US dollars and euros, and that he possessed bank accounts containing an amount of approximately DZD 4 billion, in addition to the presence of documents and seals of the National Professional Office of Cereals.

Investigations also revealed that the former Inspector General of the National Bureau of Cereals possessed three bank accounts abroad, including one containing an amount of more than 2 million US dollars.