The Highway Scandal: Defendants To Be Brought Before Justice On January 2024

The Criminal Court of Appeal of the Algerian Judicial Council will open, January 2024, the file of the “scandal” of the East-West highway again, as the case will return to the halls of justice in the framework of the appeal after the cassation before the Supreme Court.

Nine defendants will be brought to the court, including the main defendant, Chani Majdoub, CEO of the Oriflame company for marketing perfumes and cosmetics, businessman Addou Sid Ahmed Tadjeddine, as well as Hamdane Salim Rachid, former CEO of planning at the Ministry of Transport, along with Ferachi Belkacem, a former chief of staff at the Ministry of Public Works, in addition to the defendants, Ghazali Ahmed Rafik, Bouzenacha Naim, Madani, and Alab Al-Khair, and the defendants, Khaladi Mohamed, known as “Colonel Khaled,” an advisor to the Ministry of Justice, and Ouazzane Mohamed, CEO of new projects at the Ministry of Public Works, along with 7 foreign companies and complexes, where they will be charged with the crime of forming a criminal group, bribery and abuse of influence, laundering, embezzlement and squandering of public funds, and participating in wasting public fund.

Investigations into the file were launched based on a complaint submitted by the legal representative of the Ministry of Public Works against the Director of New Projects at the National Highways Agency, and after it was discovered that bribes had been offered by companies to obtain the project and that several manipulations had occurred that affected what is known as the “Project of the Century”, which was granted to a Chinese company at a cost of completion amounting to 6 billion US dollars, and extends over a length of 1,700 km with the completion of 400 transformers and bypass roads, as well as 400 technical facilities and 17 tunnels in addition to 350 rest spaces. However, the re-evaluation operations raised the project value to more than 13 Billion US dollars.