By RFIPosted on 04-24-2019 Modified 24-04-2019 at 00:25
In Algeria, the CEO of Sonatrach, Abdelmounen Ould Kaddour, the national oil company, was sacked on Tuesday. This was announced by the national television without explanation. But this change at the head of a company crucial for Algeria comes in a context of increasing investigations for corruption.
In 2007, he was sentenced by a military court in a spying case. Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour took over the head of Sonatrach, the national oil company 2 years ago. Sonatrach, it is "the" source of income of the Algerian State, which returns 60% of the budget. Some 120,000 employees, more than 150 subsidiaries, it is also the largest oil group in Africa.
Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, 68, was dismissed by the presidency on 23 April. He was replaced by another high-ranking official of Sonatrach Rachid Hachichi, in a very particular context.
Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah called for the acceleration of ongoing judicial proceedings in corruption cases . Big businessmen have been arrested and jailed in recent days.
But Sonatrach was also at the heart of major negotiations related to the exploitation of shale gas. Negotiations with the US company ExxonMobil, which, according to the press, suspended its talks in March because of the protest movement, the Americans fearing that the CEO of Sonatrach leaves his post.
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