The criminal chamber specializing in financial corruption affairs at the Tunis court of first instance began, this Thursday, May 8, 2025, the examination of the dossier of overruns and the embezzlement of public funds within the framework of the case of the Franco-Tunisian bank (BFT).
At the opening of the hearing, several accused were called upon to appear. The former Minister of State Domains, Slim Ben Hmidane, did not arise. As for the businessman Abdelmajid Bouden, he is still on the run. On the other hand, a former rapporteur advisor to the Ministry of State Domains as well as an ex-responsible for the same ministry were present.
The representative of the State Delivery of the State litigation indicated that a new report, containing updated supporting documents, had been submitted to the Court. This report supports a compensation request made by the Tunisian State, in the amount of 14 million dinars, corresponding to the litigation fees incurred both in Tunisia and abroad.
Defense lawyers have requested a postponement of the hearing in order to read the documents presented. The room decided to postpone the trial to May 26.
As a reminder, on November 25, 2024, the state-of-the-art officer of the state litigation announced that Tunisia had definitively decided the complex dispute linked to the Franco-Tunisian bank, welcoming this outcome as a “major achievement” for the State.
Recall that it was in 1982 that the Tunisian state entered the capital of the BFT, then Banque Privée, after the withdrawal of the French partner. But in the years 1990-2000, a dispute broke out with the investor Abdelmajid Bouden, majority shareholder of the bank. The latter accuses the Tunisian state of illegal expropriation and interference in the management of the BFT.
The dispute is brought before the International Center for the settlement of investment disputes (ICDIA), under the World Bank, which judges Tunisia responsible for breaches of its international commitments vis-à-vis the investor.
After an endless legal dispute Tunisia is sentenced to a fine. On December 22, 2023, the International Center for Investment Dispute Settlement (ICSI) announced its verdict in the BFT case, opposing the Tunisian State to the ABCI Investments group, ordered Tunisia to pay compensation of 1.106.573 Tunisian dinars, while the opposing party demanded 37 billion dinars.
The International Center for Investment Dispute Settlement (ICSI) had also decided on November 21, 2024, to close the appeal procedure in cancellation relating to arbitration concerning the Franco-Tunisian bank (BFT), in favor of the Tunisian State.
