Mastermind of Sonatrach corruption scandal on the run

A man close to Algeria’s energy minister Chakib Khelil was holding the position of senior executive at the ministry. He retired from work a few days before the Sonatrach corruption scandal, Echorouk has learnt.

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• The man had received incredible retirement compensation estimated at about 800 million centimes before he went to Switzerland to stay there for good and sent all his properties in Algeria. He got a working contract with a Swiss company in partnership with Sonatrach, according to the same sources.
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• The weak is always victim
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• The executive’s name was mentioned many times in the investigation about Sonatrach. He decided to leave definitively as he heard he would be charged of many wrongdoings. A large number of suspects were arrested while he had fled the country in a mysterious way.
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• He had a narrow escape in the liquidation scandal of joint venture Brown & Root – Condor (BRC). The firm’s assets in Algeria were transferred to Saipem which is 43% owned by Italy’s Eni.
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• Oilfield services group Saipem S.P.A Algeria took advantage of the quick winding-up of BRC, 51 percent owned by Sonatrach, and Halliburton subsidiary KBR, 49 percent owned by former Vice President of the US Dick Cheney. It was winded-up in mysterious conditions as some reports said Sonatrach had suspicious deals with it. Its former Chief Executive Abdelmoumene Oueld Keddour received a 30-month- prison sentence for revealing the State’s secrets to foreign parties.
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• Saipem S.P.A Algeria: 10 billion dollars in 3 years
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• KBR is known in the US and in the world for being an American eye on the countries where this company is operating. It is believed that it had entered Algeria in mysterious conditions. It was winded-up directly after terrorists had attacked one of its buses in December 2006 killing two men and wounding many in Algiers. All its assets were transferred to the ‘new born spoilt baby’ Saipem S.P.A Algeria.
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• The Italian company won $10 billion projects in three years. In 2006, its purchase order could not afford more than $30 million while BRC won 187 DZ contracts. In 2005, the company’s sales were estimated at more than $2 billion and it was employing about 2,000 engineers. That gives the impression that it was in a good financial situation. Yet, it was winded-up. Forty percent of the engineers preferred to go abroad rather than rejoining Sonatrch which was indirectly run by Algeria’s energy minister.
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• Sonatrach and transparency crisis
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• It is clear that Sonatrach’s crisis lies on transparency which does not exist in employment procedures and giant projects management. People can not know about any details in national newspapers exactly like what happened with the East West Motorway deals and the other big projects. Because of that, Saipem S.P.A Algeria employed BRC’s former senior officials after its winding-up. They earned more than $10 thousand per month.
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• The Italian company won tens of projects with the energy ministry, Sonatrach, Sonelgaz and ABB SpA Italy.
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• It is believed that Saipem S.P.A. Algeria is no more than a cover with a new form of the implementation of BRC’s former policy. Experts say the Italian company itself may be winded-up if corruption-related doubts appear along with Sonatrach and oil foreign companies operating in Algeria in partnership with the state-owned company.
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• Saipem . S.P.A. continues getting the same advantages of BRC by employing senior officials’ relatives especially in the Algerian energy sector.
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• Thanks to the company’s excellent relations with influential people at the energy ministry, it won important contracts valued at more than $10 billion. Of them, the $1.85 billion contract with First Calgary Petroleums. The company also won a natural gas project and 495 km gas pipelines construction between Hassi Rmel and Arzew.