Algeria postpones Djezzy appeal on $1.3 billion fine

An Algerian court on Sunday postponed an appeal hearing into a $1.25 billion fine imposed on Djezzy, the local mobile phone unit of Russian telecoms firm Vimpelcom, until May 6, a judicial source told Reuters. Djezzy chief executive Tamer El Mahdy, who has been convicted in the case and faces jail if the conviction is upheld, failed to appear for the hearing at the Ruisseau court in Algiers, the source said.
A lower court ruled last month that Djezzy and its CEO were guilty of violating foreign exchange regulations. Djezzy's parent company denied the allegations against it and its chief executive, and lodged an appeal.
Djezzy has been the subject of a long-running dispute with the Algerian government, during which the firm has been hit by back-tax demands, threatened with nationalisation, and put under criminal investigation.