Algeria probes illegal money transfers abroad
Algerian state prosecutors on Monday said they had banned corruption suspects from leaving the country after launching probes into graft and illegal money transfers abroad targeting unnamed individuals.
The moves come amid nationwide protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and following the arrest of one of Bouteflika’s key backers, business tycoon Ali Haddad.
Haddad was detained overnight Saturday to Sunday at a border post with neighbouring Tunisia.
On Sunday, the Algerian authorities also banned all private aircraft from taking off and landing until the end of the month.
The North African state has been rocked by weeks of mammoth protests sparked by Bouteflika’s decision in February to seek a fifth term in office. Bouteflika later announced he would pull out of the race but postponed elections which were due in April.
With the public’s ire not diminishing, hundreds of thousands of people once more took to the streets of the capital Algiers on Friday demanding the president and his entourage go.
Via France 24
