Ali Aoun Jailed In Algeria Corruption Case Over Scrap Metal And Influence-Peddling

Algeria’s former Industry Minister Ali Aoun was sentenced to five years in prison in a high-profile corruption case tied to the sale and purchase of scrap metal and non-ferrous waste, according to Al Jazeera and multiple local reports.

“Former Algerian Industry Minister Ali Aoun has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of corruption, local media reported”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said Aoun, who served as minister for industry and pharmaceutical production between 2022 and 2024, was jailed on Monday after being convicted of corruption, with prosecutors having sought a 12-year sentence.

Al Jazeera

The same report said the Economic and Financial Criminal Court in the capital, Algiers, ordered Aoun to pay a fine of 1 million Algerian dinar (approximately $7,500).

Al Jazeera also reported that Dzair Tube said the case involved irregular sales of ferrous and non-ferrous metal waste in violation of public asset management rules, and that prosecutors sought 10-year sentences for several other defendants.

The Al-Quds al-Arabi report described the Economic and Financial Criminal Pole in Algiers sentencing Ali Aoun to five years in prison with immediate detention and a fine of one million dinars.

It added that the court ordered his detention from the session after weeks of trial that included allegations of influence-peddling and settling debts through illegal means.

In the same case, Al Jazeera said Aoun’s son, Mehdi Aoun, received a six-year prison term, while other defendants received sentences “between three and 10 years,” according to Dzair Tube.

The corruption case described by the sources centers on transactions involving ferrous waste, non-ferrous metal waste, and copper residues, with prosecutors and courts linking the alleged misconduct to abuse of office and unlawful awarding of industrial and investment contracts.

Al Jazeera said the case revolved around “irregular sales of ferrous and non-ferrous metal waste in violation of public asset management rules,” and that it centered on “accusations of corruption, mismanagement and the unlawful awarding of industrial and investment contracts, notably involving the trade in ferrous waste and copper residues.”

Algerie360

Jeune Afrique likewise said the charges concern operations of selling and buying scrap metal and non-ferrous waste carried out “in opacity, to the detriment of Imétal,” which it said has since become the National Steel Industry Company (SNS).

Jeune Afrique added that the former minister was prosecuted for “abuse of office, granting undue advantages and misappropriation of public funds,” offenses it said are provided for by the 2006 anti-corruption law.

Al-Quds al-Arabi described the case as tracing back to suspicions of corruption inside state-owned complexes active in the iron and steel sector, where investigations looked into “dubious deals involving the sale and purchase of iron waste and copper scraps.”

Al Jazeera also reported that the prosecution accused Ali Aoun of abusing his ministerial position to grant unwarranted privileges or to turn a blind eye to illegal practices, and that the case involved “misappropriation of public funds and receiving benefits without right.”

Algerie360 framed the same overall matter as the “Imetal corruption case,” saying it involved “practices of speculation and manipulation in the sale and purchase of ferrous waste and copper residues,” and that grave charges were brought under Law 01-06 on the prevention and fight against corruption.

The sources describe a wide set of defendants and differentiate between convictions and acquittals, with specific names and penalties tied to the court’s decisions.

“Former Algerian Minister of Industry, Ali Aoun, goes before the judges on February 2”

Jeune Afrique

Al Jazeera said “several other officials were also convicted, though some were acquitted due to a lack of evidence,” and it named Mehdi Aoun as receiving a six-year prison term as part of the same case.

It also said investors, an official at a state-owned business and a prominent businessman received sentences “between three and 10 years,” according to Dzair Tube.

Al-Quds al-Arabi provided a detailed list of other sentences, including businessman Abdel-Moula Abdel-Nour, nicknamed “Nuno Manita,” sentenced to ten years in prison with a fine of one million dinars, and investor Sami Bouqtaya to the same penalty.

The same report said Kareem Boulyoun, the CEO of the Harjar Complex, and Nour-Eddine Salhi, general manager of the Fondal Foundation, were sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of one million dinars.

It added that Shorfaoui Mohammed, an economic operator, and Abdul Halim, president of the horse-racing club, were given five years in prison and a fine of one million dinars.

Al-Quds al-Arabi also said the court acquitted a number of accused, including managers of pharmaceutical sector companies such as Abdelkader Amrani, Mohammed Rida Habes, and Attiya Adel, as well as the manager of a car-import company, Ayman Sharit.

The sources also record how Ali Aoun and his son responded to the allegations, with both insisting on innocence and rejecting the prosecution’s account.

Al-Quds al-Arabi said that “In his defense, Aoun insisted on his complete innocence, rejected all charges, arguing that the testimonies against him are “not true.””

هبة بريس

It added that Aoun “stressed that he never intervened on behalf of his son,” and that the latter is “responsible for his financial conduct independently.”

The same report said Aoun’s son “also denied the charges,” explaining that his debts stemmed from business losses during the Covid-19 pandemic and that he settled them “without any privileges or interventions from his father or others.”

Al Jazeera said the case came amid an ongoing anticorruption drive launched by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who came to power in 2019 amid widespread pro-democracy protests.

Al Jazeera also reported that prosecutors sought harsher penalties than those ultimately imposed, including “a 12-year sentence for the former minister,” and it said the court’s outcome differed from those requests.

Algerie360 provided additional procedural context, saying the investigating judge ordered a supplementary investigation in July 2024 after new indices and evidence suggested involvement of other officials.

Beyond the courtroom, the sources connect the Ali Aoun case to Algeria’s broader anticorruption campaign and to the heavy industries sector’s political-administrative landscape.

“HIBAPRESS – Agencies”

هبة بريس

Al Jazeera said the case and convictions come “amid an ongoing anticorruption drive launched by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune,” and it specified that Tebboune “came to power in 2019 amid widespread pro-democracy protests.”

Al Jazeera

It added that Tebboune’s campaign against corruption has targeted senior officials, including “from the era of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika,” AFP reports.

Al-Quds al-Arabi described Ali Aoun as a prominent figure in Algeria’s pharmaceutical sector since the 1990s, building his reputation as one of the leading managers of the state-owned Saidal group, and it traced his career through the Khalifa Bank affair in 2003.

It said Aoun was rehabilitated in 2022 when he was appointed general manager of the Central Pharmacy for Hospitals, before the Khalifa case defendants were retried in the same year and he was acquitted.

Jeune Afrique said his exit from the government came in November 2024 as the Imétal dossier expanded and intensified, and it said he was named minister in 2022 to relaunch local production of medicines after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Algerie360 framed the case as the Imetal corruption case and described appellate decisions on November 19, 2024 denying release and confirming travel bans and passport withdrawal for A. Ch.