Algiers – The former head of Algeria’s state energy firm Sonatrach was extradited from the UAE on Wednesday, state television reported, after his arrest earlier this year over corruption allegations.
Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour arrived at the airport in Algiers in the afternoon and was expected to appear in court in the capital later in the day, state TV said, which broadcast footage of him handcuffed and escorted by police.
He was arrested in Dubai in March in accordance with an international arrest warrant, the report said.
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Close to former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Ould Kaddour was wanted over corruption allegations linked to Sonatrach’s 2018 purchase of a refinery in southern Italy from ExxonMobil’s Italian subsidiary.
According to Algerian media, Sonatrach paid $720 million for the purchase, an amount seen as excessive for the ageing refinery.
Ould Kaddour was named head of Sonatrach in 2017. He was fired in April 2019, not long after Bouteflika resigned after mass protests against his two-decade rule.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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