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The corruption scandal that is engulfing the Algerian state-owned oil giant Sonatrach went to court this week after the initial investigation by Algerian intelligence officers was concluded.
Algerian newspaper Al Watan reported that the CEO of Sonatrach, Mohamed Meziane, his two sons and 15 officials from the company have been accused of misappropriations of funds in the awarding of contracts to two research and consulting firms owned by relatives of senior Sonatrach officials, including Meziane as well as the son of the head of the Algerian bank Credit Populaire d’Algerie (CPA).
The allegations revolve around the awarding of public contracts for the benefit of two research and consulting firms and a security equipment installation company. It is alleged that the companies benefited from major contracts in return for bribes. It is also alleged that Mezinae’s sons acted as intermediaries for the payment of the said bribes.
After a hearing that lasted for 20 hours, the judge in charge of the proceedings placed Meziane and seven other Sonatrach officials under judicial supervision. One of the seven is Chawki Rahal, vice president of Marketing.
Committal orders were placed against the rest of the defendants including Meziane’s two sons, the CEO of CPA, Hachemi Meghaoui and the head of of Upstream Exploration and Production at Sonatrach, Belkacem Boumedienne.
An international arrest warrent for another unnamed suspect who has fled Algeria has been issued.Â
