Serious health and financial violations during Eid sacrifices… and the Public Prosecutor reveals:
The investigating judge ordered the Sixth Chamber of the Economic and Financial Pole, on Saturday, to place 13 people in temporary detention, including a number of managers of the Algerian red meat company “Alviar”, led by the general manager and the director of human resources, along with the finance director of the same company. They were charged with tampering with public contracts and squandering public money, abusing the position for the purpose of achieving illegal benefits, forgery and using forged official records, in addition to violating preventive health and veterinary measures, which threatens public safety. The investigation into the accused is still ongoing, awaiting a direct summons to a number of officials related to the case file.
13 people were imprisoned, including the general manager and the financial and human directors of “Alviar” company.
In this context, the Public Prosecutor of the Algerian Judicial Council, Mohamed Kamal Ben Boudiaf, revealed on Saturday the opening of investigations, recording violations and imbalances described as “profound” that marred the process of importing Eid sacrifices, stressing that these investigations included two parts, the part related to health and veterinary matters, and the part related to the financial aspect and transactions.
In the details, Ben Boudiaf explained that the Prosecution of the Economic and Financial Penal Pole issued instructions to the competent security and judicial authorities, represented by the Central Operational Service to Combat Organized Crime of the National Gendarmerie, the Central Service to Combat Organized Crime affiliated with National Security, and the Judicial Investigation Service of Internal Security, in addition to the External Security Services, each within the limits of their legal jurisdiction, to initiate comprehensive preliminary investigations.
He said, “In the health aspect, the import process that was completed for the benefit of the Algerian Company for Red and White Meat included about one million heads of sheep between March 25 and May 29, 2026. However, investigations recorded administrative violations that he described as serious, affecting the protection of health security. He stated that the veterinary inspector at the border posts in Bejaia sent a warning to the Director General of Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Agriculture after discovering clinical symptoms suggesting the presence of infectious diseases inside one of the farms. Shipments, but the decision to refuse their entry into the national territory, as required by law, was not taken.”
Four private traders accounted for the lion’s share of import operations
The Public Rights representative added that the Director General of Veterinary Services formed a committee of three veterinarians, including two members who did not have sufficient experience to evaluate the health status of the herd, so the committee ended up authorizing the unloading of the shipment, which, according to the results of preliminary investigations, resulted in the death of 3,615 heads of sheep, and the destruction of 10,770 heads through sanitary slaughter, with thousands of other heads being subjected to quarantine.
Investigations also revealed, according to the Public Prosecutor, that the imbalances began from the country of origin, where on April 30, 2026, the previously approved sheep were replaced with ones of unknown origin before being shipped to Algeria.
On the contractual and financial side, the Attorney General confirmed that the investigations included International Consultation No. 2 of 2026 regarding the supply of one million heads of sheep, as the investigations showed strong indications of circumventing the rules of competition and public contracts.
He explained that those in charge of the operation initially adopted formal procedures to demonstrate respect for the law, before later resorting to the method of simple mutual consent to assign the largest part of the deal, estimated at 700,000 head, to a limited company that includes only four main dealers.
Investigations also monitored unjustified price differences ranging between 5 and 15 percent, which the Attorney General considered serious indicators of violations in the management of the deal, stressing that judicial investigations are still ongoing to determine responsibilities and take the necessary legal measures, according to the spokesman.
Ben Boudiaf added that the investigations resulted in the registration of serious suspicions, as a result of which 41 suspects were brought before the judicial authorities, where they were charged with several charges, including exploitation of influence and money laundering, noting that the investigating judge ordered that 13 defendants be placed in temporary detention. While the rest of the followers were placed under the judicial supervision system.
The Public Prosecutor stressed that any infringement on this process constitutes an infringement on public funds and citizen confidence, stressing that investigations will continue to uncover all those involved and assign responsibilities.
