The criminal chamber specializing in financial corruption cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance has decided to reject the requests for release filed by the leader of the Ennahdha movement and former Minister of Transport Abdelkrim Harouni, by the businessman Mohamed Frikha, as well as by two executives of a public oil company.
The court also postponed their trial until next November, according to corroborating judicial sources, reports Mosaique Fm.
Suspicious transactions between a private company and a public company
The four defendants are being prosecuted in a case of financial corruption linked to commercial operations between a company headed by Mohamed Frikha and a public company operating in the oil sector.
Investigators suspect irregularities in the management of contracts and unjustified advantages obtained to the detriment of the State.
In a previous decision, the indictment chamber of the Tunis appeal court had ordered the referral of the case to the specialized court, considering that the elements of the case fell within the jurisdiction of the financial judicial center.
The defendants, already placed in detention, will remain incarcerated until the next hearing.
Mohamed Frikha, founder of Syphax Airlines and former MP, is already facing several legal proceedings for suspicion of corruption.
Abdelkrim Harouni, a leading figure in the Ennahdha movement and former minister, is the target of several separate investigations into public management matters.
Also read:
Tunisia – Justice: Something new in the Mohamed Frikha affair
Tunisia: Prolonged detention for Abdelkrim Harouni and Mohamed Frikha
