In a recent interview with French magazine “Entreprendre”, Youcef Baadja, a 48-year-old finance and commodities entrepreneur, recounted his harrowing experience battling a “corrupt” Algerian system that stops at nothing, including abductions and poisoning attempts plotted by its intelligence services.
Having spent over 25 years in the trade, Baadja possesses now an enormous fortune on the London Stock Exchange. However, his efforts to contribute to Algeria’s economy back in 2010 were in vain as his seven companies were blocked by Algerian customs, along with his bank accounts which were subsequently frozen.
Baadja claimed that these actions were arbitrary and had no legal grounds. He asserted that the root cause of his problems was the fact that “he did not have any connections or support from a military general.”
The businessman had approached the business sphere in his home country with a European mindset, overlooking the Algerian practice that gives generals the prerogative of controlling certain activity sectors.
Following a five-year legal battle that took the case to the highest court in the country “the Algerian Supreme Court” in 2018, the entrepreneur won and received a ruling ordering the state to pay him damages.
When seeking reimbursement from imprisoned government officials, including the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Baadja admitted he received threats and offers of bribery to make him give up 50% of the awarded sum.
He stated, as reported by the magazine, “I was in a café when Algerian services came to me and offered compensation in the form of bank loans that would be written off eventually.”
After refusing such seemingly generous propositions, Youcef said that his life turned into a nightmare. He recalled being kidnapped by unidentified individuals claiming to belong to the Algerian intelligence, and having violent encounters with others outside his home.
Baadja believes he is still being persecuted, after he was a victim of a poisoning attempt at a public café. He said that various entities, including taxis, hotels, and cafés, work with Algerian intelligence services.
Baadja currently lives outside Algeria for safety reasons and has filed seven international complaints seeking justice, asset restoration, and compensation for damages. He has lodged a complaint with the International Criminal Court, seeking financial restitution of up to 310 million euros.
Baadja has taken his business to Libya, where he secured a one billion-euro contract with the local government for undertaking solar panel installation.