Legal experts: “In the trail of Khalifa scandal, Sonatrach’s stolen money could vanish into thin air”

Algerian legal experts have castigated Algerian judicial loopholes surrounding the mechanisms for the retrieval by Algeria of the stolen funds in the manifold corruption scandals notably those involving Khalifa Bank, Sonatrach and the East-West highway project in which colossal money was embezzled then laundered abroad after the conclusion of shady deals marked by widespread bribery practices.

The Sonatrach corruption scandal has had international ramifications with several world countries freezing suspected financial assets notably in France and Egypt in addition to the seizure by justice of luxurious property acquired illegally abroad by former Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil and his close collaborator Farid Bedjaoui who are both still at large despite being the target of international warrants of arrest.

The legal experts surmise in the light of this murky situation marked by serious loopholes in the country’s judicial apparatus that the stolen funds of Sonatrach will certainly witness the same fate as those of the Khalifa Bank by vanishing into thin air because of a lack of rigour  and vigilance  on the part of the authorities concerned.

Several countries including France, Egypt, Canada, Italy and the United Arab Emirates have ordered through legal injunctions the freezing of the bank accounts held on their territories by notably Abdelmoumène Rafik Khalifa, Farid Bedjaoui and Chakib Khelil as well as other suspected swindlers of their inner circle.

As a result, Algeria has the legal right and the binding duty as well to retrieve, through thick and thin, these frozen funds after lodging official requests with the state authorities of the countries concerned, they further explained.