An Algerian court decided today, Wednesday, to fine Said Bouteflika, brother of the country's former president, and businessmen close to him, about $3 billion to the state treasury, after convicting them of a corruption case.
And according to what the Anadolu Agency quoted from the Algerian News Agency, the court ruled that Said Bouteflika and several businessmen (whose number was not specified) pay 400 billion dinars (approximately 3 billion dollars) to the public treasury as compensation for the damages incurred.
The court charged them with money laundering by transferring property resulting from criminal proceeds to hide and disguise its illegal source, during the reign of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1999/2019).
In addition to compensation, the court issued a 12-year prison sentence enforceable against Said Bouteflika, with the confiscation of all funds, revenues, and real estate resulting from corruption proceeds in the context of this case, while the punishment for businessmen ranged between 12 years for Ali Haddad, 15 years for Mohieddine Tahkout, and 10 years for the Kouninef brothers. They are (Rida, Abdul Qadir Karim, and Tariq Noah).
These rulings are not final and can be appealed to a higher judicial body.
Younger brother
It is noteworthy that Saeed, 66, is the younger brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and he joined the presidential institution in 1999, and he emerged as an influential and strong man after the deterioration of Bouteflika's health condition in 2013.
And the current Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, had previously announced the recovery of $20 billion in corruption revenues, as funds, property, and real estate seized locally in corruption cases worth $20 billion from the era of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
There is no official figure about the amount of money smuggled during the era of Bouteflika, who resigned from the presidency on April 2, 2019 under the pressure of popular protests against his rule that erupted on February 22 of the same year, but Abdelkader Ben Qarina - a candidate in the previous presidential elections - He said in a statement to Anadolu Agency that the volume of these funds exceeds $100 billion.