Khalifa Bank's liquidation prevented Algeria from entering Société Générale's Board of Directors

A financial source close to the file of ending activity of Algerian private banks, said re-opening the issue of Khalifa Bank may reveal unpleasant surprises to the Algerian authorities, which scrambled to resolve the bank before the final judgment of the Algerian justice that pledges of the state’s seizure of the bank’s assets, and liquidation under the law.

Thr same source told Echorouk; “The worst surprise for the authorities is the decision of Rafik Abdelmoumene Khalifa, to hire American and British Law Offices with international experience, that are specializes in issues of bankruptcy and enjoy an international reputation.

“Algeria will not be able to prevent Khalifa to use expertise offices and international law bureaus to defend his interests”.

“Abdelmoumen Khalifa may resort to reclaim his companies, including the Khalifa Bank, which was dissolved outside the law in quick and mysterious circumstances by the authorities before his trial and the decision of justice. Resolving the bank was done two years before the issue was transferred to the Algerian judicial authorities”.

“Team of lawyers who worked with Abdelmoumene Khalifa in Britain, recorded all the procedural errors that the Algerian authorities did since the dissolution of the bank until today, including statements that were made by former officials in the Algerian government who have had responsibility, directly or indirectly, including the former Finance Minister, Abdellatif Ben Achenhou, who said in statements in Algiers, that the decision to disband the Khalifa Bank was a big mistake that was committed by the government, and he defended the decision to nationalize the bank and changed its name, and allow him to continue to operate, and the same thing for the airline, which had a market, and was able to pay loans and achieve success. I was with the large team of officials who were against the liquidation of the bank. I was against people who supported the decision to clear Khalifa from history”.

“Algerian authorities cannot re-open the Khalifa issue without providing an answer about the faith of the money that was in the Khalifa fund, which has been converted Algerian People Loan (CPA), at a time it should have been placed in a special account in the Bank of Algeria to the final decision in the file, as authorities must first before Abdelmoumene Khalifa, reveal the beneficiaries of the loans that were granted by the bank to the properties of Algerians, and did not recover until today. Hundreds of influential figures benefited from international credit cards, and the most dangerous of all this, will the authorities keep silent concerning the operations which the Bank did for the benefit of the state abroad, in both France and the United States, and the equipment that were purchased for the presidency and other public bodies”.