Algerian court sentences ex-labor minister to 7 years for $45M embezzlement

An Algerian court sentenced former Labor Minister Tijani Hassan Haddam to seven years in prison for embezzling roughly $45 million during his time as director of the National Social Security Fund from 2015 to 2019, local media reported.

Haddam was also fined 1 million dinars ($7,719) and ordered to pay 2 million dinars ($15,433) in compensation to the public treasury, while he and other defendants must jointly repay the fund 100 million dinars ($771,687) in damages.

The case centers on a controversial property purchase in Algiers, which Haddam claimed was for the social security fund. The real estate developer involved received the same seven-year prison sentence, and two former municipal mayors linked to the deal were each sentenced to four years.

Haddam, who briefly served as labor minister from April 2019 to January 2020, had been under judicial supervision since July 2023. Prosecutors had initially sought a 10-year sentence for misuse of public funds and abuse of office.