Overthrowing a dangerous gang that trades in gold and recovering 330 billion centimes – Al-Hiwar Al-Jazaeryia

The Central Authority for Combating Organized Crime of the General Directorate of National Security managed to overthrow a criminal network consisting of 25 people, including two women, in the case of sabotaging the national economy and money laundering through illegal trading in precious metals, with the complicity of public officials.

And the General Directorate of National Security stated in a statement that the operation came thanks to the effective exploitation of information received in this regard, by setting a systematic operational plan, under the supervision of the competent prosecution, for which high-level material and technical capabilities were harnessed, under the leadership of a qualified investigation team for such cases. The complex, which allowed the seizure and retrieval of seized items, its total value was estimated at 330 billion and 744 million centimeters, represented in:

Gold more than 135 kg

More than 180 kg of silver, including 140 kg of raw materials.

05 billion Algerian centimes and 32 thousand euros

Freezing bank accounts with an estimated balance of more than 135 billion centimeters.

The in-depth investigations supported by procedures for extending jurisdiction, accompanied by an inspection permit for the company’s headquarters and the suspects’ residences, the statement adds, led to the identification of the members of the network who hail from the states of Batna, Constantine, Biskra and Algiers, and revealed the criminal method used, where the main mastermind (59) years old resorted. ), residing in Ben Aknoun, Algiers), to import gold from abroad using the commercial register for the activity of the company he manages, taking advantage of the facilities granted by the exchange law in acquiring hard currency at the bank rate.

The main mastermind also resorted to selling imported gold on the black market in order to pour the financial proceeds into his own bank account, using commercial records extracted in the name of network members related to fictitious activities that do not exist in reality, and with the complicity of two employees (02) in a national bank.

Investigators also discovered the huge volume of financial transactions and movements recorded in the bank account of the main mastermind, which exceeded 1,100 billion centimeters.

The suspects were brought before the Public Prosecutor at the specialized financial and economic pole of Sidi M’hamed, Algiers, for the felony of carrying out acts of sabotage affecting the national economy and smuggling at a degree of serious harm to the national economy, tax fraud, money laundering and transfer of property resulting from criminal proceeds and corruption crimes for the purpose of concealment and camouflage. Its illegal origin within the transient organized crime group.