Abdelmoumene Rafik Khalifa (born 1 October 1966) is an Algerian businessman living in London. He was condemned in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

to a life sentence, charged of criminal association, corruption, abuse of trust, and forgery. His trial was one of the largest in Algeria involving the embezzlement of more than $1 billion through a range of Khalifa-linked companies.

Career

Rafik is the son of Laroussi Khelifa a former minister. He started his career as a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

. In 1998, he founded Khalifa Bank, which managed the interests of small private shareholders and institutional shareholders related to the Algerian government. Continuing his activities in France, he quickly created an empire which employed 14,000 people. He was in the luxury cars rental business, before founding Khalifa TV in France, Khalifa Airways, and buying a private hotel in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

—which had belonged to the eccentric billionaire known as La môme Moineau— in . Owner of three villas in Cannes, Rafik Khalifa wanted to create a '' ville nouvelle'' named "Algeria," triggering the attention of French media. He became close to the French show-business, getting to know

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

and

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

. However, in 2003, a judicial liquidation of his endebted firm was started. Khalifa then used shady methods to save his assets. An investigation revealed the disappearance of 50 million euros in the Khalifa Bank of Algiers. Khalifa was then suspected of having spent the money of personalities close to the Algerian President Bouteflika. 17 judicial investigations were opened against him, who took refuge in London in 2003. The Khalifa Bank was closed on orders of Bouteflika. Khalifa like Bouteflika belong to the same unchanged political regime since 1962.

Trials

Khalifa's trial involved more than 100 defendants and 200 witnesses. In , he was condemned in Algeria, ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

'', to a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

, charged of criminal association, corruption, abuse of trust, and forgery. A few days earlier, on 5 March 2007, the French justice had also issued a

European arrest warrant The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union (EU). Once issued, it requires another member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing stat ...

against him. The Court of

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

had opened an investigation against Khalifa in 2003, charged of fraudulous bankruptcy, abuse of social assets (''abus de bien sociaux''; i.e. corruption) and

money-laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds into ...

. London authorized Khalifa's

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

in the end of August 2007. Algeria has also issued an international arrest warrant against him. Khalifa was extradited to Algeria in . Khalifa was sentenced to a 18-year imprisonment.

References

External links

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Dossier de L'ExpressInterpol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalifa, Rafik 1966 births Living people Fugitives wanted by Algeria Algerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Algerian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Algeria People convicted in absentia People extradited from the United Kingdom People extradited to Algeria

Career

Trials

See also

References

External links