The younger brother of the late ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was sentenced on Wednesday to 12 years in prison for “corruption and concealment of corrupt proceeds”. A conviction that does not combine with the previous ones.
Already in detention as part of proceedings in several cases, Saïd Bouteflika, younger brother of former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika – who died in 2021 – was sentenced on Wednesday, February 8 to 12 years in prison for “corruption and concealment”. corruption proceeds,” according to local media.
Two of his co-defendants, former Algerian boss Ali Haddad – also convicted in several cases – and Ahmed Mazouz, a former oligarch from the Bouteflika era, received the same sentence. The former big boss of the automotive sector, Mahieddine Tahkout, one of the most influential businessmen under the presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1999-2019), was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the site Interlines information.
The heaviest sentence is served
The court of Sidi M’hamed, in Algiers, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for three ex-tycoons, the Kounifef brothers, members of a family closely linked to Saïd Bouteflika. Reda, Noah-Tarek, and Abdelkader-Karim Kouninef had already been sentenced respectively to 16, 15, and 12 years in prison in another trial for “influence peddling” and “money laundering”.
In June 2022, Saïd Bouteflika was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption. In Algeria, prison sentences are not cumulative. It is the heaviest sentence that is served.
After the fall of Bouteflika on April 2, 2019, under pressure from the Hirak protest movement and the army, the judiciary launched a series of investigations into cases involving members of his entourage.
