Will Farid Bedjaoui expose his “high-up henchmen” involved in Sonatrach corruption probe?

Farid Nourredine Bedjaoui, who is the nephew of former Algerian foreign minister and former chairman of the constitutional council, Mohamed Bedjaoui, is now wanted by Algerian justice through an international arrest warrant together with eight others including former energy and mines minister Chakib Khelil on corruption charges linked to Sonatrach’s oil and gas contracts with several foreign companies over the past decade.

Farid Bedjaoui is widely believed to be Chakib Khelil’s right-hand man who was entrusted by the latter and other senior Sonatrach executives involved in the bribery scandal with serving as prime interlocutor with these foreign energy firms for the conclusion of multi-billion contracts in exchange for colossal financial spin-offs for the benefit of each of them.

44 year-old Farid Bedjaoui is suspected of being behind numerous illicit money-reeking dealings through his string of high-up connections in Algeria and mostly overseas.

In another development in the affair, An Italian investigation into suspected bribery by workers at energy firm Eni and its Saipem unit to secure Algerian oil and gas industry contracts has led prosecutors to a vineyard outside Naples part owned by two central figures in the case, judicial sources say.

According to a February 6 warrant to search homes and offices of executives of Eni (ENI.MI) and Saipem (SPMI.MI), stakeholders in the agricultural business include Pietro Varone, former chief operating officer of Saipem’s engineering arm, and Farid Noureddine Bedjaoui.

There is no evidence to suggest there is anything illegal about the vineyard business. But the judicial sources say they are keen to understand more about the two men’s financial relationship and whether money paid into the vineyard included siphoned off Eni and Saipem funds.

Efforts to contact runaways Bedjaoui and Varone were unsuccessful.

In the February 6 warrant, prosecutors set out their suspicions.

Farid Bedjaoui is suspected of channelling nearly 198 million euros in bribes to officials in Algeria via a company called Pearl Partners Limited for eight contracts totalling $11 billion awarded to Saipem, Europe’s biggest oil services company, between 2007-9, the warrant says.

The warrant says that Varone was one of Eni and Saipem’s main interlocutors with Bedjaoui.

The Feb 6 warrant alleges Varone recommended Pearl Partners to the Saipem board to advise on Saipem’s business activities in Algeria and the Middle East.

Eni, Italy’s largest company in terms of market value, is the biggest foreign energy operator in Africa. It has operated in Algeria since 1981 and has extensive gas interests there.