ALGIERS- The trial of the two former Prime Ministers, Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal as well as the former Minister of Public Works, Abdelghani Zaalane, involved in the case of the pharmaceutical company “GB Pharma” (Benhamadi Group) continued, on Tuesday afternoon, at the Tribunal of Sidi M’hamed (Algiers), with the hearing of witnesses.
The case of the pharmaceutical company “GB Pharma” was opened by justice in its section relating to the construction of a factory in the industrial zone of Sidi Abdallah (West of Algiers) and the importation of drugs. This company was managed by the former minister, Moussa Benhamadi, also prosecuted in this case as the main defendant, against whom the public action was terminated due to death.
The judge of the national financial and economic pole at the court of Sidi M’hamed began the trial by hearing the witness in this case, Omar Benhamadi, brother of the manager of “GB Pharma”, the late Moussa Benhamadi.
Mr. Omar Benhamadi said, in this context, that the company “has not benefited from tax or customs privileges since its creation in 2011” and that “its creation was made within the framework of the law after examination of the file investment at the level of the National Investment Council (CNI) and the National Investment Development Agency (ANDI) “.
He further indicated that his brother, who held the post of Minister of Post and Telecommunications, “did not use his influence with the two former Prime Ministers, Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, in order to benefit from privileges and facilitations for the benefit of the pharmaceutical project “, highlighting that the credits” were granted to the company within the framework of the law and did not exceed the amount fixed by the ANDI, that is to say 488 billion centimes “.
Taking the floor, the public prosecutor questioned the reason for the change in the nature of the company “GB Pharma” from a limited liability company (SARL) to a joint stock company (SPA), adding that the value of the project was, at the beginning, estimated at 132 billion centimes in 2011, then amounted to nearly 488 billion cents in 2016.
Omar Benhamadi was heard by the judge about the contract to build a burn center in Skikda, which was won by the “Travocovia” company he runs.
On the other hand, the witness Omar Benhamadi denied having any information on the dedication of his brother, the late Moussa Benhamadi, representative of the Benhamadi group, of 5 billion centimes and 800 million centimes for the financing of the electoral campaign of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
During the hearing, a communication was established by videoconference with former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, who is in Abadla prison in Béchar, concerning the same cases of which he is accused alongside the former Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and former Minister of Public Works Abdelghani Zaâlane, who were present at the hearing.
The court also heard the testimony of the former Minister of Youth and Sports, Mohamed Hattab, in his capacity as secretary general of the wilaya of Algiers at the time of the facts. He confirmed that he had signed a decision to grant a concession contract to the Benhamadi group to benefit from land at the level of the new town Sidi Abdallah, specifying that the Committee for assistance in locating and promoting investments and the regularization of land, which is chaired by the wali he represented at the meeting at the time, had received 50 investment files, including that of the Benhamadi group.
Most of the main witnesses in this case, including the former Wali of Algiers, Abdelkader Zoukh, the former Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Imane-Houda Feraoun, and the former Minister of Health, Mokhtar Hasbellaoui, were absent.
APS
