No Release For Former FAF President Kheireddine Zetchi
The Algiers Judicial Council’s indictment chamber decided not to release Kheireddine Zetchi, the former president of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), prosecuted on suspicion of corruption related to FAF management.
In detail, the indictment chamber of the Algiers Judicial Council, at the weekend, upheld the decision of the investigating judge of the third chamber of the Sidi M’hamed Economic and Financial Criminal Court, issued on November 27, ordering the provisional detention of Kheireddine Zetchi.
Kheireddine Zetchi, who is currently detained in the Kolea penal institution, is being prosecuted along with Djahid Zefizef, Charf-Eddine Amara and several former officials in the former Federal Bureau of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) who are currently in provisional detention, including the former general secretaries of the FAF, Mohamed S. and Mounir D., in addition to the former general manager of the FAF, Abdelghani N., for the facts of concluding contracts in violation of the internal procedures for concluding deals, to grant unjustified privileges to others, resulting in the squandering of public money at the Algerian Football Federation and the public treasury. They were charged under the Anti-Corruption and Prevention Law 01/06, relating to the misdemeanours of intentional abuse of office, intentional squandering of public funds and participation in squandering, concluding contracts in violation of legislative and regulatory provisions to grant unjustified privileges to others, and benefiting from unjustified privileges on the occasion of concluding contracts with the state or one of its affiliated bodies and institutions.
Investigations revealed that Kheireddine Zetchi was the one who concluded and signed all contracts related to the Algerian Football Federation deals, which are suspicious contracts that violate legislative and regulatory provisions to grant unjustified privileges to others and benefit from privileges.
Zetchi’s violations go beyond the deals and contracts he concluded, to former FAF officials benefiting from allowenses and financial grants, and providing match grants to local international players in hard currency, in addition to squandering public money by inflating housing and food bills by resorting to a private hotel to host members of the Federal Bureau during their stay in the capital, as well as the deal related to “Adidas”, in addition to the huge financial expenses for the African Championship for local players hosted in Algeria and other violations and transgressions, according to what the investigations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Combating Unit of the Algiers State Security found, and the judicial investigations into the expenses of organizing the African Championship for Local Players and the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Security investigation also revealed that Zetchi had concluded a contract in the name of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) with a Tunisian tourism agency, which is accused in the same case of carrying out all procedures related to the costs of hotels, accommodation and food, in addition to tickets, and this without resorting to what is known as “competition”, and choosing one of the Algerian agencies, for example, while Zetchi claimed before the investigating judge in the third chamber of the Economic and Financial Pole, regarding this incident, that the Tunisian agency is the one accredited at the level of the “FAF”.
