Algeria: Corruption verdicts

An Algerian court jailed six people on 2 February and sanctioned two companies for corruption connected to contracts with state-owned energy firm Sonatrach. The charges included corruption, money laundering, awarding contracts contrary to regulations and inflating contract prices, state news agency APS reported. Former Sonatrach upstream vice-president Belkacem Boumediene was sentenced to five years in prison, while former Sonatrach chief executive Mohamed Meziane received a suspended five-year sentence and a fine.