The former head of state giant Sonatrach,Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour under the Algerian court on Tuesday has been sentenced to 15-year imprisonment in a corruption case involving an Italian refinery,according to his lawyer,Miloud Brahimi.
The ex-official under the administration of late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika had been on trial over the 2018 purchase of the Sicilian Augusta oil refinery for alleged corruption.
He’s also accused of squandering public funds, abuse of office and conflict of interest and has been sentenced to 15 years in prison without parole. 
“Former deputy chief Ahmed Mazighi, who oversaw the purchase, was jailed for seven years”, Brahimi said. “Another former Sonatrach official indicted in the case was jailed for three years and a fourth was released,”the lawyer added.
Ould Kaddour, who was close to Bouteflika, had been extradited from the United Arab Emirates in August last year after being detained on an international arrest warrant.Appointed as Sonatrach head in March 2017, he was sacked just three weeks after Bouteflika’s April 2019 resignation amid vast protests against his 20-year rule.
