According to Algerian media reports, former United Nations ambassador of Algeria, Rachid Belbaki, smuggled hundreds of thousands of foreign currency using the diplomatic bag for the benefit of a corrupt oligarch’s brother, Rebouh Haddad. The latter’s brother, Ali Haddad, is currently incarcerated on embezzlement charges.
The diplomatic bag, a tool used by diplomatic missions to communicate with their ministry of foreign affairs, across the world, can’t be opened by airport staff as it benefits from diplomatic immunity. The diplomatic bag is meant for the transport of sensitive documents, however, in the case of Algeria, it is often used to transport presents, dates, luxury liquors and such items as the Algiers Herald has been made aware of by multiple credible sources.
This is the first time illicit cash is smuggled through the diplomatic bag, or at least the first time it is investigated by the national gendarmerie and leaked to the press.
Rachid Belbaki is also alleged to have opened several bank accounts where the illicit cash was deposited, bank accounts opened in the region of Hauts-de-France while the diplomat was serving as consul for the city of Lille.
An ongoing Algiers Herald investigation is looking into the smuggling of items of a different nature by Algerian diplomats using the diplomatic bag. The investigation’s findings will be published once it is completed.