Two Spanish lawmakers charged in connection with corruption practices in Algeria

José de la Mata, a Spanish judge, has launched a probe against two former politicians accused of criminal activities including bribing in foreign countries, Algeria in particular, reports say.

Pedro Ramón Gómez de la Serna and Gustavo de Arístegui, two former popular parliamentarians according to De la Mata headed a criminal organization to “obtain contracts in foreign countries” including Algeria.

The alleged crimes date back to 2009 after Gómez de la Serna and Arístegui “came together to advise Spanish companies in the search for business opportunities and opening of foreign markets,” El Pais reports.

“His idea was to charge these companies “a monthly commission and a success commission for the assumption that they obtained a contract for work, services or supply with public companies and foreign governments,” the Judge said.

The scheme according to de la Mata consisted in obtaining contracts through the payment of commissions and gifts to Algerian authorities and officials, taking advantage of the absolute lack of mechanisms and procedures of crime prevention that the mercantile companies involved had.

The duo Spanish former politician as part of plot setup screen companies and false invoicing.

The network, the Spanish reports, managed to land contracts in the North African country with the help of Algerian authorities and officials, while taking advantage of the absolute lack of mechanisms and procedures of crime prevention.

The contracts were works of the Souk Tleta desalination plant (250 million euros) and the Ouargla tram (230) awarded to Spanish firms Elecnor and Internacional de Desarrollo Energético.