‘Khalifa Bank’s victims’ plea for compensation turned down

The Criminal Court of Blida rejected Monday the requests by the Khalifa Bank in liquidation as well as the Bank of Algeria and 39 bodies and enterprises to stand as civil parties, in the context of the trial of the Khalifa case.

Judge Antar Menouar explained that the refusal of the request of Khalifa Bank in liquidation was motivated by the fact that the Bank has not introduced to appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the verdict pronounced in 2007 in support for this query with on focus the  “safeguarding of the rights” of the relevant Bank.

The same argument has also justified the rejection of the request of the Bank of Algeria, according to judge Antar Menouar.

The 39 agencies and public and economic enterprises also concerned by the refusal of the request to be constituted as civil parties are in their majority the Offices of promotion and real estate management (OPGI), the National Fund for unemployment insurance (NACC), the national retirement fund (CNR), Sonatrach, Sonelgaz, etc.

These organizations and companies comprising in all 50 entities have also filed an appeal in cassation to be defined as civil parties and whose financial losses were dubbed as “indirect” by the Court.

“Their rights remain unchanged and they can introduce a civil lawsuit but not in a criminal court action, considering that the losses are indirect as stipulated by the law”, explained the president of the tribunal.

Thirty-five (35) other public companies are, meanwhile, not concerned by the civil lawsuit because they didn’t introduce appeals to the Supreme Court against the verdict of 2007, said the judge, who also reminded the parties concerned by today’s verdict that they have eight (8) days before them to appeal.

In closing remarks earlier this week, prosecutor Mohamed Zerg-Erras argued that Convicted Rafik Khalifa had used the 70 branches of his El Khalifa bank to fleece clients attracted by promises of 13 percent interest on time deposits.

“The purpose of this bank was not to invest but to plunder depositors’ money and fly away with it aboard [his] Khalifa Airways,” Zerg-Erras charged.

Ali Mezine, the lawyer who presided over the eventual liquidation of El Khalifa Bank, said the money went to sponsoring French football club Olympique de Marseille, buying a 32 million euro ($36 million) villa in Cannes, apartments in Paris and a corporate jet.

The group built around the bank, founded in the 1990s, went bust in 2003 with losses estimated at between $1.5 billion and $5 billion.