The Skikda Court of Justice issued its verdict on Monday 19 December 2022 in the corruption case involving the Skikda port company, sentencing the defendants to prison terms of between one and five years.
Thus, according to the verdict, reported by Algerian radio, the former CEO and the former chairman of the participation committee of the Skikda port company were each sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with a referral warrant.
Company executives and department heads as well as economic operators, one of whom is the son of a former political figure, were sentenced to one and three years’ imprisonment. Other defendants were acquitted.
On the charge, the defendants were indicted for the crimes of “reporting materially inaccurate facts”, “concealment of documents”, “abuse of office to carry out activities in violation of rules to allow others to obtain undue benefits ” and “the squandering of capital public goods and the unlawful exploitation of public goods for the benefit of others”.
They were also prosecuted for “misappropriation of funds from social works at the port”, “sending people on trips paid for by the company” and “hidden financing of a political party”.
Last May the defendants were sentenced by the court of first instance to sentences ranging from one year to three years’ imprisonment, while some of them were acquitted.
On the order of the investigating judge of the penal center of Constantine, the main defendant (the former managing director of the port company of Skikda) and the president of the participation committee have been subjected to an arrest warrant since last October, for the crime of “dissipation of public funds, abuse of office and falsehood” in a case related to a financial hole of 8 billion DA of funds for social work.
The prosecution had asked for sentences of between 5 and 10 years in prison for all the defendants.
