ALGIERS, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Supreme Court on Wednesday announced in a statement that it has received a case against former Energy Minister Chakib Khelil over charges of corruption.
The bill of indictment includes violations of foreign exchange and capital transfer legislations and signing two illegal contracts concluded by the state-run energy group of Sonatrach with two foreign companies, official APS news agency reported.
This is the second time that Khelil's case is opened.
In 2013, local and foreign media reports suggested that Italian oil company ENI and subsidiary SAIPEM paid 256.1 million U.S. dollars in bribes to secure a 14.6-billion-dollar contract with Sonatrach when Khelil was energy minister.
In 2013, the Algerian courts issued an arrest warrant against nine of the 22 suspects involved in this case, including Khelil, his wife and two sons, as well as Farid Bedjaoui, nephew of the country's former Foreign Minister Mohamed Bedjaoui.
Khelil held the energy portfolio from 1999 to 2010 and chaired OPEC in 2001 and 2008.
