Consulate worker admits carrying cash to Algeria for black market exchange

A secretary at Spain’s consulate in Algiers has admitted to carrying almost €35,000 to Algeria over more than four years, in a case being examined by the Audiencia Nacional for alleged visa trafficking and money movements linked to Torrevieja.

Maua Belkacemi told judge María Tardón that she transported €34,813 from Spain to Algeria between early 2022 and March this year, according to the investigation published in The Objective. The money was then exchanged for Algerian dinars on the black market with the help of her partner, the report said.

The inquiry centres on an alleged network inside the Consulate General of Spain in Algiers that is suspected of facilitating visas in return for payment. Police believe part of the proceeds was laundered in Spain through the purchase of vehicles.

Belkacemi’s role is described in the case file as that of a courier for cash sent by friends and colleagues in the diplomatic mission. She reportedly withdrew the money in Spain before taking it back to Algeria, often in sums below the threshold that would trigger a declaration at airport controls.

The same investigation led to arrests on 25 April, when the judge ordered the detention of Vicente Moreno, then the consulate’s number two, and local employee Mohamed Boutouchent. Both were arrested in Spain.

Officers also searched homes in Sagunto, in Valencia province, and Torrevieja, where Belkacemi’s family lives. A total of €10,890 in cash, four mobile phones, two laptops and 17 USB sticks were seized, while a property in Madrid and several financial products were frozen.

The National Police’s economic and fiscal crime unit, UDEF, also linked the case to other people working on visa administration, including Hocine Malek and Lylia Dricy. The probe has already widened to include the alleged purchase of at least six properties in Algiers by the couple said to have headed the visa operation.

Belkacemi submitted a 25-page statement to the judge on 26 October in which she denied the accusations against her.

What the investigation alleges

According to the material cited in the report, investigators suspect the scheme involved payments from Algerian applicants who wanted visas to Spain, with some of the money then moved through cash transactions and asset purchases. The investigation is continuing.

The case has also drawn in an Alicante-based lawyer, Gaspar Sempere, who was previously detained in 2022 in a separate case involving alleged fraud, coercion, Social Security offences and document falsification linked to Algerian nationals.