Algiers, 8 Jan. (AKI)
The trial of 104 people allegedly implicated in the Khalifa corruption scandal was scheduled to open on Monday in Blida, 50 kilometres south-west of the capital Algiers. A three-year investigation into the business of Algerian tycoon Abdelmoumen Rafik Khalifa, who is believed to have fled to London in 2003 and will be tried in absentia, involved four ministers, several magistrates and top government officials. Khalifa, 38, faces charges of fraud and money laundering.
The Khalifa business, which included a bank, an airline company, a luxury car rental firm, pharmaceuticals companies, and several satellite television channels, went bankrupt in April 2003.
The trial opening on Monday will deal only with the El Khalifa Bank scandal, in which money deposited in savings accounts was allegedly used to finance the group's expansion. Four other cases, including those of Khalifa Airways, will reportedly be examined separately by the Blida court.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.374210217&par=0
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