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Algeria Jails Ex-Sonatrach Head for 15 Years for Graft

Former head of state energy giant Sonatrach Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour. (Sonatrach)
Former head of state energy giant Sonatrach Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour. (Sonatrach)
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Algeria Jails Ex-Sonatrach Head for 15 Years for Graft

Former head of state energy giant Sonatrach Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour. (Sonatrach)
Former head of state energy giant Sonatrach Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour. (Sonatrach)

An Algerian court on Tuesday handed a 15-year prison sentence to the former head of state energy giant Sonatrach in a corruption case.

Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour had been on trial over the 2018 purchase of the Sicilian Augusta oil refinery.

According to Algerian media, the state oil and gas firm had paid ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Italiana $720 million for the site and associated infrastructure, seen as overpriced for a refinery in operation since the 1950s.

The deal aimed at reducing the bill for importing refined petroleum materials from abroad. However, after sacking Ould Kaddour in 2019, the company borrowed $250 million from foreign banks to repair the refinery.

Upon its conclusion, Ould Kaddour hailed the “profitable project,” which he claimed would provide the public treasury with large sums of money to be spent on importing oil-derived products in a short period of time.

Ould Kaddour, accused of squandering public funds, abuse of office and conflict of interest, was “sentenced to 15 years in prison without parole,” his lawyer said.

The court also sentenced his wife to two years in prison and his son in absentia to ten years in prison and issued an international arrest warrant against him.

Sonatrach's former deputy chief Ahmed Mazighi, who oversaw the purchase, was jailed for seven years.

Another former Sonatrach official indicted in the case was jailed for three years and a fourth was released.

The indictment list also includes “concluding deals in violation of legislative and regulatory provisions to enable others to enjoy unjustified privileges, illegal use of public and private funds for the benefit of others, as well as abuse of power to benefit from exemptions and reductions in taxes and fees.”

The purchase price, initially set at 733 million dollars, had amounted to $2 billion to the actual session of the property.

Ould Kaddour affirmed that the refinery had indeed cost the initial amount and that the difference, namely more than 1.1 billion dollars, included customs bonds, maintenance and renovation costs, as well as environmental compliance.

It is noteworthy that the United Arab Emirates extradited Ould Kaddour in early August. It had arrested him in Dubai after a court in Algiers earlier issued an international arrest warrant against him.

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Demarcating the Lebanese–Syrian Border Tops Agenda of Trump’s Envoy in Beirut

Talks between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US envoy Thomas Barrack two weeks ago in Beirut (AP). 
Talks between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US envoy Thomas Barrack two weeks ago in Beirut (AP). 
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Demarcating the Lebanese–Syrian Border Tops Agenda of Trump’s Envoy in Beirut

Talks between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US envoy Thomas Barrack two weeks ago in Beirut (AP). 
Talks between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US envoy Thomas Barrack two weeks ago in Beirut (AP). 

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Syria, is prioritizing the demarcation of the Lebanese–Syrian border during his meetings in Beirut this week with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Army leadership.

The border issue is expected to feature prominently in Lebanon’s response to proposals Barrack presented, as he considers it essential for establishing a mechanism to implement the ceasefire agreement with Israel and asserting Lebanese sovereignty under UN Resolution 1701.

According to Lebanese ministerial sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Saudi Arabia recently hosted a Lebanese–Syrian meeting that defused tensions and ended clashes across the overlapping areas between the two countries in northern Bekaa. Riyadh’s mediation created a favorable climate to advance border demarcation along the roughly 375-kilometer frontier from north to east.

Saudi sponsorship of this process, along with measures by the joint Lebanese–Syrian committee to prevent further clashes, strengthened Washington’s interest in supporting these efforts. Much of the violence has stemmed from rival smuggling networks once protected by the former Syrian regime and used for trafficking Captagon into Lebanon and beyond.

Calls to demarcate the border date back to the National Dialogue Committee’s first session in 2006, convened by Berri. At Hezbollah’s request, the term “demarcation” was replaced with “delineation,” arguing it was more appropriate for relations between “brotherly nations.” Nevertheless, the issue remained unresolved as Syria refused to engage in formal negotiations, especially before the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, when Damascus consistently blocked references to completing the Taif Agreement or withdrawing Syrian troops from Beirut.

Later attempts during Saad Hariri’s premiership under President Michel Sleiman also stalled when President Bashar al-Assad declined to cooperate, citing other priorities. Illegal crossings continued to proliferate, justified as necessary for Hezbollah’s movement to avoid Israeli monitoring and to maintain unregulated “military routes” for arms smuggling.

Sources revealed that in a Damascus meeting co-chaired by Hariri and Assad, Lebanon requested not only border demarcation but also a review of bilateral agreements under the Treaty of Brotherhood to address their pro-Syrian bias. While the status of the occupied Shebaa Farms was briefly raised, it was withdrawn to avoid jeopardizing talks. Though an agreement was reached to start demarcation from the northern border, Syrian officials later backed out, citing preoccupation with the Jordanian border.

Lebanon has since prepared a detailed file with maps and coordinates, ready to support renewed negotiations under President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Officials believe the time is now ripe to demarcate the border and end agreements that once facilitated Syria’s dominance over Lebanon.