TUNIS: The head of Tunisia’s leading olive oil exporter, CHO group, has been detained on suspicion of corruption, local media reported on Monday.
Tunisian website Business News, citing a source familiar with the case, said the detention of Abdelaziz Makhloufi, CHO’s president, had been extended until Tuesday.
The company is known abroad for its Terra Delyssa brand olive oil.
Makhloufi is also known in Tunisia for being the president of football team CS Sfaxien.
He was initially questioned on November 2 as part of an investigation into suspected corruption in the management of the Henchir Chaal state-owned lands which include 360,000 olive plants, local media said.
Mosaique FM reported that a total of 15 people, including a former agriculture minister, are being prosecuted in the case.
President Kais Saied, whose critics accuse of ushering in a new authoritarian regime, has made fighting corruption a priority.
Along with dates, olive oil is one of Tunisia’s main agricultural exports.
Official figures foresee production of about 340,000 tons in the 2024-25 season, putting Tunisia alongside Turkiye and just ahead of Greece and Italy, but far behind Spain’s 1.3 million tons.
Tunisian authorities expect a 50-percent increase in olive oil exports this year, at about 300,000 tons.