543 billion in tobacco revenues were laundered before the courts on July 8 – Al-Shorouk Online

On July 8, the Economic and Financial Criminal Pole Court opened a heavy corruption file, among what is known as the “tobacco barons,” in which a private tobacco company is being pursued. Investigations resulted in the seizure of approximately 550 billion centimes of money, real estate, and property through the process of laundering and tax evasion.
More than 20 defendants are being pursued in the case file, including 12 detainees in the penal institution in Qalaia. They formed a criminal network active in the field of money laundering and concealing criminal proceeds resulting from suspicious commercial practices in the field of tobacco trade. The “Noor Khan Tobacco” company, owned by “B.D. To justify the illegal source of funds deposited in various banks to prevent the discovery of their suspicious source resulting from tax evasion and money laundering, which has cost the public treasury huge sums of money.

More than 20 people face heavy charges that carry a penalty of up to 15 years

In detail, the case file has been investigated by the investigating judge in the Eighth Chamber of the Economic and Financial Penal Pole since April 28, 2024, as it was proven through the preliminary investigation that real estate property, movables, money in bank accounts, and precious metals were seized for the defendants in an amount exceeding 543 billion centimes.
The defendants and the private tobacco company are being prosecuted before the third branch of the police station in Sidi M’hamed, on Wednesday, July 8, in the interior, on charges of money laundering and criminal proceeds and concealing them within the framework of an organized criminal group, and misdemeanors of tax fraud and engaging in fraudulent commercial activities by means of fictitious and forged invoices, which are acts stipulated and punishable under the Penal Code, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Law 06/01, the Law on Combating Forgery and the Use of Counterfeits, the Law on Direct Taxes and Similar Fees, and the Law on Commercial Practices.