According to our sources, the money was hidden in large bundles wrapped in aluminium foil and covered with wrapping paper, in a suitcase loaded as hold luggage on the plane. These precautions were not enough to divert the attention of the French customs officers. Without any difficulty, they arrested two young men, aged 36 and 39, as they were about to leave the customs area of the airport.
When questioned about the contents of their suitcase, they showed their tickets to Turkey to make it appear that the money was only passing through French territory. Unconvincing, the two passengers, both Algerian passport holders, were quickly arrested by the national anti-fraud office. They were taken into police custody awaiting trial.
In Algiers, the sky had just fallen on the heads of those really responsible for the operation. It was not two young men, whose profession is still unknown, who were the owners of this enormous sum. A sum impossible to find in any Algerian bank. The 2.4 million euros were raised on the parallel market. And no ordinary person could afford to send such a large sum as checked luggage on a scheduled flight from Algiers to Paris. Currency exchange between Algerians is often done remotely. You hand over dinars in Algeria and they hand over euros in France. There is no need to send money by plane or boat. Only Algerian residents are obliged to make the exchange on the parallel market in order to be able to send through the bank the sum considered as tourist allowance. This sum must not exceed 7,500 euros per person and must remain in the bank for at least 24 hours. This is a way of legally laundering the money collected on the parallel market. An Algerian practice that is unique in the world.
In the case of the two passengers arrested at Paris airport, the money was far from being a tourist allowance or intended for the purchase of a property, as the powerful and their close associates are wont to do. The money is intended to finance Tebboune’s election campaign.
Marked by the historic boycott of the December 2019 presidential elections by the Algerian diaspora, which includes nearly one million registered voters out of some 6 million residents, Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s backers have decided to redouble their efforts for the 7 September elections. They plan to organise a large number of rallies in France, especially in cities with a high concentration of Algerians. Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and the surrounding areas are the focus of Tebboune’s election campaign. Rallies are the ideal occasion to attract Algerians by offering them a cap, a sandwich and a 100-euro note. In Bouteflika’s time, the offer was 50 euros. To these expenses must be added the cost of renting halls and buses to transport the crowds invited to attend. Organisers are also paid to attract as many people as possible. They receive between 5,000 and 10,000 euros. With the 2.4 million euros sent from Algiers, we will have trouble meeting all the expenses. Obviously, we have donors on the ground who expect a return once Tebboune is re-elected.
The seizure of this staggering sum will cause problems for Tebboune’s collaborators, led by Interior Minister Brahim Merad, who had the complicity of the police and customs services at Algiers airport, not to mention the vigilance of their French counterparts.
While the press in France picked up the story in the early hours of the morning, in Algeria there was silence. The media, both public and private, were ordered not to discuss the matter. Neither the written, spoken nor televised press said a word. As if the 2.4 million euros had not left Algeria and had been stolen from the Algerian treasury. A matter that needs to be hushed up as soon as possible.