Former head of Algeria's Sonatrach to face trial over corruption

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday extradited a former chief of Algeria's state oil and gas company Sonatrach to face trial over alleged involvement in corruption cases, Algerian state television reported.

Television footage showed Abdelmoumene Ould Kaddour handcuffed and surrounded by policemen on his arrival at Algiers airport.

The Gulf country had arrested Ould Kaddour in Dubai after a court in Algiers earlier this year issued an international arrest warrant against him.

Algerian authorities have alleged Ould Kaddour is involved in several corruption cases linked to deals signed by Sonatrach, including the purchase of the Augusta refinery in Italy from Exxon Mobil Corp in 2018.

Ould Kaddour had been chief exective of Sonatrach from March 2017 to April 2019. He was close to former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who stepped down in 2019 after mass protests against his plan to seek a fifth term.

(Reuters)