5 years for tires and former employees in foreign trade departments – Al-Shorouk Online

Petition for a 7-year sentence against the main accused in the case file
10 years for a fugitive accused and 4 years for merchants and importers

On Sunday, the Public Prosecutor at the Casablanca Court sought penalties ranging from 7 years to 4 years of effective imprisonment against the defendants present at the trial session, who were former employees of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Export Promotion and economic dealers, and 10 years’ imprisonment for the fugitive defendant, after they formed an “empire” to exchange benefits and tamper with import licenses, by marking the discretionary schedules, which enabled a number of dealers to obtain licenses in illegal ways. Due, in exchange for commissions amounting to 25 million centimes per intervention.
In the details, the Public Rights representative requested the imposition of a 7-year prison sentence against the main accused, and the matter concerns an employee who held a position in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Export Promotion, in addition to a 5-year prison sentence against four executives and public employees in the same ministry.
In addition, the Public Prosecutor called for the imposition of a 4-year prison sentence against economic operators, including merchants, importers, and private companies, while the prosecution sought the imposition of a 10-year prison sentence with the confirmation of an arrest warrant issued against the accused who is fleeing justice, for the misdemeanor of abuse of position, abuse of influence, and requesting and accepting an undeserved advantage, and the charge of accepting undeserved benefits in her favor with the aim of granting undeserved benefits, as well as the misdemeanor of intentional misuse of position, in order to Performing work within the framework of its practices and functions in a manner that violates laws and regulations.
In return, the legal representative of the Ministry, as the civil party in the case, demanded that the convicted defendants be obligated to pay, in solidarity, compensation worth 10 million Algerian dinars.
The security investigations into the file were launched based on information received by the Research and Investigation Department of the Regional Group of the National Gendarmerie, regarding suspicious activity of an organized network that wreaked havoc on the Ministry of Foreign Trade by tampering with import orders, under the leadership of an employee who was exploiting the influence that her position afforded her, directly or indirectly. She was caught, thanks to a person reporting corruption, who handed over to the Gendarmerie investigators the concerned phone with two separate SIM cards, confirming that it contained data that would… She helps in the investigation, as she uses the “WhatsApp” application to receive files of economic clients.
Initial investigations also revealed that the main accused is suspected of involvement in facilitating the processing of files of importers of raw materials through the Ministry’s digital platform.
After opening the investigation, the Gendarmerie obtained permission to search her residence and seize her mobile phone, and after listening to her statements, the latter admitted that she had intervened in about 30 to 40 files since the launch of the platform, stressing that her interventions were free and aimed only at helping colleagues and acquaintances in inquiring about the status of the files and completing administrative procedures.
She explained that the mediations were carried out by receiving the estimated schedules via the WhatsApp application, then presenting them to the competent authorities to ensure that the conditions were met before referring them for signature. She also stated that her husband stole from her an amount of 420 million centimes that she was saving from selling her jewelry and from her personal savings.
During the investigation, one of her friends confirmed that she had asked her to intervene on behalf of the owner of a cheese production company in Qalaia to clarify the procedures for purchasing equipment and trucks through the platform, without compensation.
However, technical investigations and analysis of messages and calls showed different data, as one of the suspects stated that the employee requested amounts ranging between 20 and 25 million centimes in exchange for each intervention.
She was also confronted during the investigation by sending five schedules belonging to companies from Bejaia, Oran, and Ain Temouchent. The investigations also revealed that she had purchased an apartment in the capital worth 1.9 billion centimes, in addition to suspicion of the complicity of a former employee in the ministry who helped her in some transgressions, including providing a phone SIM card that was not registered in her name with his prior knowledge of the actions attributed to her.