That’s How Spanish Judiciary Closed Corruption File Linked To Ouargla Tramway And Tlemcen Seawater Plant

A Spanish judge rescinded the judicial prosecutions against a former Spanish ambassador and lawmaker and 21 others on charges of bribing Algerian officials and executives in the desalination plant project based in Tlemcen, western Algeria, as well as that related to the achievement of the tramway in Ouargla, southern Algeria, which together cost 480 million euros.

In this context, Spanish media reported on Sunday that the judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz, has canceled the judicial proceedings against the former Spanish ambassador to India, Gustavo de Aristige, and the former MP for the Spanish People’s Party, Pedro Gómez de la Serna, in addition to 21 other people, which formed a criminal ring in a bid to snatch lucrative projects and deals outside their country, by offering gifts and bribes to officials and executives in these countries including Algeria.

According to the same sources, the newly appointed National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz, who succeeded the former judge José de la Mata, canceled these prosecutions within the framework of what is known as Algeria’s double investigation into the desalination plant of Tlemcen and the tramway in Ouargla, under the justification that a referral decision was issued.

The criminal case is before the courts, while the investigation in it was closed prematurely, as it did not exhaust all procedures and stages.

The judge of the Spanish National Court, namely José de la Mata, who became the representative of his country in the European Judicial Authority “Eurojust”, issued an order in November 2020 to pass the brief procedure for the trial based on an investigation that had been completed, according to the same source, indicating that the acts committed in Algeria are classified as corruption in international commercial transactions, notably as acts of bribery, money laundering, and the formation of a criminal organization.

The case dates back to the end of 2015, when the Spanish National Court began an investigation into bribes and gifts of officials in Algeria, in exchange for the awarding of the seawater desalination plant project in Souk Tleta in the western province of Tlemcen, whose cost amounted to 250 million euros for the benefit of a Spanish company complex in addition to the achievement of the Ouargla tramway project for a cost of 230 million euros for a Spanish company complex as well.

The Spanish National Court had stated in 2016 that an investigation was underway into suspected corruption and bribes paid to Algerian officials and executives in exchange for a Spanish consortium of companies winning the Ouargla tramway deal, and at that time it spoke of bribes estimated at 3 percent of the project’s value, or the equivalent of nearly 7 million euros.