In Algeria, the appeal of “Madame Maya”, presented as the hidden daughter of ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was held over the weekend in Tipaza, in western Algiers. This lawsuit is presented as a symbol of the fight against corruption.
Initially, on October 14, Zoulikha-Chafika Nachinache (real name) posing as the daughter of the ousted president was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 40,000 euros for “money laundering”, “waste of public means “and” influence to act “. Unknown to the public, “Madame Maya” is accused of having used her status to gain the support of several senior officials close to the former president. These links would have allowed him to build a financial and real estate empire with the greatest discretion.
Through this appeal, the prosecution is asking for heavier verdict to be a good example in the fight against corruption. On Saturday, a detached woman appeared before the judges and denied that she had presented herself as the president’s daughter.
Six villas and properties in Spain
“I never said I was the daughter of X or Y,” replies “Madame Maya,” who presents herself as a “businesswoman,” and instead uses her married name – Mrs. Belaachi – to “Do multiple import” , in his words.
“How did you acquire the six villas and the property in Spain?” Asks the prosecutor. No specific answer: “Madame Maya” claims to have sold an apartment in France to buy another in Spain, which is rented out. “The income allowed me to buy more,” she explains. “I have daughters that I would protect, especially when I was condemned by a serious illness,” she insists. .
17 kg of jewelery and one million euros
Asked about 17 kg of gold jewelery and large sums (almost one million euros and $ 30,000 in cash) seized in one of her homes, “Madame Maya” remains evasive. “You are accused of influencing action,” the judge reminds him. “We need evidence, I refute these facts,” the defendant replies.
The trial also targets a dozen politicians, including two former ministers and the former director of police, who are accused of having contributed to this huge system of corruption. Among them is Mohamed Ghazi, the former Wali in the Chlef region, who claims to have limited himself to “carrying out the president’s orders”. “I did not fly,” he assures us in tears, “I did not know this lady.” If he attributed Madame Maya an abandoned forest, it is “only according to the president’s instructions”, assures this former labor minister.
The Tipaza prosecution requested a 15-year prison sentence against “Madame Maya” and 10 years in prison against her two daughters, also prosecuted for “money laundering” and “waste of public funds”.
► To read: Algeria: the influential businesswoman “Madame Maya” convicted of corruption
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