01 Jan 2021; MEMO: An appeal court in Algeria on Thursday sentenced the alleged daughter of ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to 12 years in prison after she was convicted in corruption cases.
The Appeal Court of Tipaza fined Zoulikha Nachinache, known as Maya, six million Algerian dinars, and ruled to confiscate all of her real estate.
The court also issued a ruling against a number of Bouteflika's regime officials who have been involved in the same case, including Abdelghani Zaalane, former Minister of Transport and the last director of Bouteflika's presidential campaign, who was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined one million Algerian dinars.
The court sentenced the former Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security Mohamed El-Ghazi to ten years in prison, and fined him one million Algerian dinars, in addition to issuing a ten-year imprisonment and one million Algerian dinar fine against Abdelghani Hamel, national security director-general during Bouteflika's era.
The case dates back to the Bouteflika era, when the young woman, Maya, claimed to be the secret daughter of Bouteflika, with the aim of getting closer to the economic sector ministers and enabling businessmen to obtain projects in exchange for bribes and gifts.
