Sonelgaz CEO Bouterfa again under judicial scrutiny in corruption-tainted scandal

The General Manager of the Sonelgaz Group, Noureddine Bouterfa, has again been put on judicial probation by the examining magistrate of the court of Sidi M’hamed in central Algiers on suspicion of involvement in shadowy and illicit practices in the conclusion of contracts with several foreign firms for the achievement of power plants in various parts of Algeria.

Well-informed sources close to the file told Echorouk that Noureddine Bouterfa and 15 other senior managers of the National Gas and Electricity Company Sonelgaz have been put under judicial scrutiny, they have been forbidden from leaving the national territory and their passports have been confiscated by the relevant judicial authorities.

On the basis of a fact-finding report compiled by the National Gendarmerie as part of the ongoing investigations, the examining magistrate has again summoned the Sonelgaz CEO to give explanations about the shadowy recruitment by the company of a Switzerland-based man called “K. Bala” as a free-lance consultant in return for a monthly salary reaching 150 million centimes (DA) in addition to 5,000 Euros as a bonus, a post he was not entitled to in line with the labour regulations in force.

Furthermore other sources say that the Swiss Federal Police is currently inquiring into suspicions of money laundering concerning the former Sonelgaz General Manager, Abdelkrim Benghanem, and 3 other suspects.

The same sources also revealed the Swiss Federal Police was probing 3 reported fund transfers to Switzerland made in 2004, 2005 and 2006 to the bank account of Abdelkrim Benghanem who at the head of the Sonelgaz Group between 1995 and 2004.

The Swiss Federal Police has reportedly asked the relevant Algerian authorities, including the CRTF financial body, for more precise information about these suspicious money transfers from Algeria to Switzerland.