ALGIERS: Algeria’s former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia appeared before the Supreme Court on Wednesday as part of a raft of anti-graft investigations opened into senior figures since President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down, state television reported.
Ouyahia, who left the government in March as part of a cabinet reshuffle, will be investigated over corruption cases including “awarding illegal privileges,” it said, without giving details.
His former transport minister, Abdelghani Zaalane, later also appeared before the court in connection with a corruption investigation. State TV gave no more details on either case.
Their lawyers could not be reached by phone for comment.
State television gave no details of what would happen next in the judicial processes involving Zaalane and Ouyahia, who is the leader of Algeria’s second largest party, the Democratic National Rally (RND).
The two politicians are the latest figures to be investigated on corruption allegations since mass protests erupted more than three months ago demanding the departure of the ruling elite and the prosecution of people they see as corrupt.
Bouteflika stepped down on April 2 under pressure from the army and protests that broke out on Feb. 22. Zaalane had been named campaign manager for Bouteflika for an April 18 presidential election, which was canceled.
The army is now the most powerful institution and its chief Ahmed Gaed Salah has urged the judiciary to investigate all people suspected of being involved in corruption.
Several senior figures including another former prime minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, and eight former ministers appeared last month in a court in Algiers on suspicion of corruption.
Bouteflika’s youngest brother, Said, and two former intelligence chiefs have been placed in custody by a military judge for “harming the army’s authority and plotting against state authority.”
Several prominent businessmen, some of them close to Bouteflika, have been detained pending trial.
Protesters are now seeking the departure of interim President Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, both seen as part of the elite that has ruled the North African country since independence from France in 1962.
Ouyahia’s RND supports the interim government, but is not part of it.
Authorities have postponed a presidential election previously planned for July 4, citing a lack of candidates. No new date has been set for the vote.
Algeria’s former PM appears in Supreme Court over alleged corruption: state TV
Algeria’s former PM appears in Supreme Court over alleged corruption: state TV
- It is the second time in less than two months that the former prime minister appears in court in connection with corruption investigations
- Since the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, several wealthy businessmen have been held in custody for benefiting from government contracts
Libya brings in Western traders in blow to Russian fuel flows
- The tenders will further reduce Russian product imports into Libya
- Russian fuel exports to Libya have fallen to around 5,000 bpd in 2026 from 56,000 bpd in 2024–2025
LONDON: Global oil firms and traders including Vitol, Trafigura and TotalEnergies have won tenders to supply Libya with gasoline and diesel as the country grants large Western players wider access and reduces imports of Russian fuel, three trading sources told Reuters.
Libya is in the process of overhauling its oil sector 15 years after the fall of leader Muammar Qaddafi and years of civil wars.
The country produces some 1.4 million barrels a day of crude but lacks the infrastructure to refine it, leaving it reliant on fuel imports.
After issuing upstream licensing rounds for the first time in 20 years in an effort to grow crude output to 2 million bpd, Africa’s second-largest oil producer is now changing how it sells its oil and buys the fuel it requires.
Rather than swapping fuel imports for crude exports, it has instead awarded tenders to cover its fuel needs.
In the tenders in recent weeks, which have not previously been reported, Vitol won the rights to supply 5-10 gasoline cargoes a month and some diesel volumes, three traders familiar with the results said.
Trafigura and TotalEnergies also won the right to supply fuel, two of the three traders said. Reuters could not establish the exact volumes.
Vitol, Trafigura, and TotalEnergies declined to comment. Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the tenders.
RUSSIAN IMPORTS DROPPING
The tenders will further reduce Russian product imports into Libya as Western firms source their volumes from refineries in the Mediterranean.
Russian fuel exports to Libya have fallen to around 5,000 bpd in 2026 from 56,000 bpd in 2024–2025, when it was the dominant supplier, according to live data from global analytics firm Kpler.
Italy has become Libya’s top fuel supplier this year with 59,000 bpd, mainly from the ISAB and Sarroch refineries run by Trafigura and Vitol, the Kpler data showed.
Moscow has relied heavily on Africa, Asia and South America for fuel sales after its refined products were banned from the West under sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has also seen its oil exports to India and Turkiye fall under US pressure, pushing more oil toward China.
Overall fuel exports into Libya from all sources have averaged around 186,000 bpd since the start of 2024.
FIRMS ALSO GAIN ACCESS TO CRUDE EXPORTS
Libya will also change the way it handles crude exports, the sources said.
Swiss-based trading firm BGN, previously a key exporter, will see crude liftings fall sharply, all three traders said, as big Western players will be allocated export rights.
Small Swiss-based trader Transmed Trading also picked up several crude cargoes in January and will keep lifting volumes in coming months, two of the three sources said.
Transmed and BGN did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Libya also signed a 25-year oil-development deal with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips in January, involving more than $20 billion in foreign-financed investment.
