Meziane, Sonatrach frames and foreign companies before justice on December 27
The Algiers Court. Photo: copyright
Public prosecution at Algiers judicial council programmed, in the supplementary agenda of the current criminal session, the trial of the accused in the case of “Sonatrach 1”, as the date of December 27 was fixed to conduct the trial, which has already been postponed twice in the previous sessions.
Both former General Manager of Sonatrach, Mohamed Meziane, and eight executive managers of the company, including the director in charge of transportation through pipelines, Ammar Zenasni, and director of the tribal activities, Belkacem Boumediene, in addition to the two sons of Mohamed Meziane, and Director of Studies’ Office “KAD”, along with four foreign companies, which are “Saipem Contracting Algerie”, Limestone company, and the German Vunkoark Blitak”, as it accused them with 19 charges that are related to leading an evil group, misdemeanors of concluding deals that violate the legislative and regulatory provisions that are in work, by granting deals and giving unjustified privileges for other companies, and increasing the prices through the conclusion of transactions, stealing public funds, money laundering and abuse of power, as 108 witnesses will be present to testify in front of the Criminal Court in connection with the facts of corruption, which affected Sonatrach, including the heads who succeeded on the presidency of the company after discovering the scandal in 2009.
It is known that the investigation in the case was launched in 2009, and it comes to five suspicious deals worth about 110 billion ZDZ, that were granted to the German company, Kontal Alegria Vank Vark Blitak, within the framework of the project to establish the visual control and electronic protection for all Sonatrach vehicle system at the level of the national territory, as the Italian company “Saipem” obtained the most important project in Sonatrach, and it comes to the completion of the gas pipeline that links between Algeria and Sardinia, Italy, and the file also refers to the deal of reconstructing Ghermoul headquarters that belongs to Sonatrach, and which was won by the German company “Amtash”, as the office of studies “KAD” was granted the mission of completing the study.