The former prefect of Algiers, Abdelkader Zoukh, close to the deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was sentenced on Tuesday to two prison terms of four and five years for corruption by the court of Tipaza (west of Algiers ), reported the official APS agency.
The court also issued a committal warrant against the convict who was imprisoned, adds APS. In Algeria, the penalties are not cumulative and the heaviest prevails over the others.
Mr. Zoukh, 71, wali (prefect) of Algiers between 2013 and 2019, received two prison sentences for “granting privileges” to the family of the former Algerian police chief, Abdelghani Hamel, and that of a former boss of the automotive industry, Mahieddine Tahkout. Both are behind bars.
The former prefect was prosecuted for “deliberate squandering of public funds by an official”, “illegal use of property and public funds entrusted to him by virtue of his office” and “abuse of office and violation of laws and regulations in the goal of obtaining benefits for a third party “, according to the prosecution.
“Granting of privileges”
He is notably accused of having granted social housing to Mr. Hamel’s daughter and of having given up to the latter’s wife “nine commercial premises at a ridiculous price”.
At the end of June, Mr. Hamel was sentenced on appeal to 12 years in prison for “illicit enrichment” and “embezzlement”, facts for which he had been indicted and imprisoned in July 2019.
His children, prosecuted in the same case, also received sentences ranging from one to eight years in prison. His wife was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence.
In November, Mr. Tahkout, one of the most influential businessmen of the Bouteflika presidency, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment at first instance.
The vast investigations into corruption and nepotism launched after the resignation in April 2019 of Mr. Bouteflika under the pressure of an unprecedented popular uprising have led to a series of lawsuits and sentences to heavy prison terms.
These sentences revealed the extent of corruption and the fortunes amassed by the men of the former head of state’s seraglio, affecting former ministers, senior officials and businessmen.
