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

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

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 (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

. 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 Khalifa Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الخليفة) was a passenger and cargo airline based in Algiers, Algeria which was founded in June 1999 by Rafik Khalifa and ceased flying in 2003. The airline served internal routes within Alge ...

, and buying a private hotel in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) 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 I ...

—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 A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

'' 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, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 alm ...

and

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

. 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 is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'', to a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, charged of criminal association, corruption, abuse of trust, and forgery. A few days earlier, on 5 March 2007, the

French justice In France, career judges are considered civil servants exercising one of the sovereign powers of the state, so French citizens are eligible for judgeship, but not citizens of the other EU countries. France's independent court system enjoys speci ...

had also issued a European arrest warrant against him. The Court of

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. 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, bordering t ...

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 concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

. London authorized Khalifa's

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

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

* * * *
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