Mohamed Meziane: ''I applied Chakib Khelil's orders''

Mohamed Meziane, former general manager of Sonatrach, who was placed under judicial control in the file of ”Sonatrach 01″ revealed, before the investigating judge of Algiers court, where he denied implicitly being implicated in corruption in Sonatrach, that he applied the orders primarily responsible for the sector, of Chakib Khelil, with respect to transactions that were concluded with the Italian and German companies.

Meziane admitted that his family obtained gifts from the German company’s officials.

President former director general of Sonatrach, Mohamed Meziane, who was charged of forming a criminal gang, money laundering and deals that violate the legislation and influence peddling and bribery, answered questions by the investigating judge spontaneously, and denied all the charges against him, while he acknowledged implicitly – according to his talk in the judicial record – the privileges and gifts which were received by members of his family, especially his two sons, who are also charged with him in the file of “Sonatrach 01”, as he confirmed the gifts that were given to him by the accused “A.J” manager of the company “Sarl Kontal Algeria”, as he said that “A.J” bought an apartment in Paris in 2008 for his wife, and bought also a Villa for his sons, which are the real estates which inquiries of investigators discovered in the file, and which were considered as bribes for illegal transactions that were obtained by the German company.

in his statements before the investigating judge, Meziane recognised that he was aware that his son “M.M.R” had been employed at the Italian company “Saipam”, under  the Algerian law since 2006, as a special adviser of the Italian General Manager,Tellio Orsi, for a fee estimated at 14 million centimes monthly, without attending to headquarters, and his mission was to inform the Italian company of all of the recent developments of the projects, and provide the Company with the necessary data to assist in the best preparation of technical and commercial offers in the tender.

Meziane revealed that he met with the General Manager of the Italian company “Saipam” Tellio Orsi, in Tunisia in the wedding of his son which was held in a hotel there, and denied what was said about the financing of the wedding by the director of “Saipam”, stating that the expenses were the responsibility of his son without mentioning their names, and added that this Italian company had previously and won several deals in Sonatrach.