Algerian financier Rafik Khalifa was jailed for 18 years Tuesday for embezzling from his own bank to finance a lavish lifestyle that included a French villa and a private jet. The 49-year-old ex-golden boy, who built and lost an empire while still in his thirties, had threatened to blow the whistle on Algeria's political elite, but in the end remained silent during his 40-day trial.
He was being retried following a 2007 conviction in absentia that saw him sentenced to life in prison, and the prosecution had been seeking the same penalty. He smiled when the verdict was read out, and the press has speculated over whether he may have agreed to keep quiet in exchange for a more lenient sentence. "Since the beginning of the trial, exchanges in court have taken place in such a way as to expunge from the file anything that could give the appearance of a financial and political affair demonstrating the fragility of the state," daily newspaper El-Watan remarked.
Djilaki Jadjadj, president of an association dedicated to battling corruption, was more blunt: the trial "demonstrates that Algeria does not have an independent judiciary". In addition to the jail sentence, the court in Blida south-west of the capital ordered Khalifa's assets seized and fined him one million dinars (10,000 euros/$11,200).
Khalifa, courted in his day by Algeria's elite and praised in the press, faced charges that included fraud, theft, corruption and falsification of administrative and banking documents. The prosecution had sought sentences varying from 18 months to 20 years for 70 co-defendants. In the end, 18 were jailed for various terms and the rest were acquitted.
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