Algerian Businessman Réda Kouninef Faces New Trial for Money Laundering

Already serving 16 years for corruption, Algerian businessman Réda Kouninef will face a new trial for “money laundering” and “concealment of criminal income,” linked to a 2019 case.

Currently held at Koléa prison, Réda Kouninef — once a key figure of the Bouteflika-era business elite — has been referred to court by the investigating judge of the economic and financial division of Sidi M’hamed. The decision, unchallenged by the public prosecutor, implicates three additional defendants, including a Zéralda farm owner now on the run.

According to Echorouk, the investigation centers on Kouninef’s purchase of numerous tropical shrubs from the fugitive farmer, allegedly under the guise of an agricultural project. Authorities suspect the deal was a front for laundering illicit funds. The offenses fall under Law No. 01-06 on the prevention and fight against corruption, underscoring the seriousness of the charges.

This latest prosecution adds to Kouninef’s mounting legal troubles. He and his brothers, Tarek and Karim, were sentenced in 2019 to 16, 15, and 12 years in prison, respectively, following their arrest after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s fall. Their sister, Nour Kouninef, who lives abroad, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years and remains under an international arrest warrant.

Their convictions resulted in the confiscation of all assets — including businesses, real estate, vehicles, and movable property — and the payment of damages to the state treasury. Alongside figures like Ali Haddad, Mahieddine Tahkout, and Mourad Oulmi, the Kouninef family symbolizes the dismantling of the once-powerful business network tied to Algeria’s former presidential clan.

Six years after Algeria launched its anti-corruption drive, the ongoing prosecutions of former regime-linked businessmen demonstrate that the Bouteflika-era corruption saga is far from over.