Former Algerian businessman Abdelmoumene Rafik Khalifa on Tuesday was
sentenced to 18 years in prison by the criminal court of Blida in one
of heaviest corruption cases in the nation.
The accused was charged with conspiracy, breach of trust, forgery and use of forgeries, corruption, and fraudulent bankruptcy.
The trial, which began on May 4, heard 71 senior political,
financial, sporting and cultural Algerian personalities, either as
defendants or witnesses.
After one week deliberation, Khalifa was sentenced to 18 years, and
fined 90,000 U.S. dollars, in addition to the confiscation of his
properties. He was acquitted of abuse of influence charge. Meanwhile, 53
defendants were acquitted, while 18 others were sentenced to three to
10 years.
A
son of a former minister, Khalifa emerged as a young businessman in
early 2000s through the establishment of a bank, an airway company and
some other business in pharmacy, construction and tourism.
This young man has been able to form a fortune in record time, as he
was nicknamed “the Golden boy” by the Algerian media. However, one of
assistants was caught by airport police while smuggling a big sum of
hard currency. An investigation was opened immediately to reveal a large
money laundering and corruption case. Then Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia
called it “the scandal of the century.”
Khalifa managed to leave the country to Britain, while the Algerian
government in 2006 started the liquidation of Khalifa Group in 2006.
Khalifa was first tried in absentia in 2007 while arrested in Britain, as he was inflicted life sentence.
Besides his home country, the accused is also sued by the French
justice for “breach of trust, misappropriation of assets, bankruptcy
accounting concealment and money laundering in an organized gang”.
Mr. Khalifa was arrested March 27, 2007 in Britain as part of a
European arrest warrant issued by the High Court of Nanterre
(Hauts-de-Seine, in the Ile-de-France).
Rafik Khalifa was extradited to Algeria in December 24, 2013 after more than ten years exile in London.
Punch
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