Rabat – Djahid Zefizef, former president of the Algerian Football Federation, was placed in custody today after an investigation by a judge at the Economic and financial crime division charged him with corruption and financial fraud.
According to the Algerian outlet Ennahar, the investigation judge has ordered seven individuals, includes Djahid Zefizef, Charaf-Eddine Amara and Kheireddine Zetchi, to be sent into custody at the Koléa prison.
The decision followed an extensive probe into financial irregularities within the Algerian football federation, the report added.
The same source indicates that Zefizef is being prosecuted in a new criminal investigation involving his previous role as a manager of the Mediterranean refrigeration company, Frigomedit. That prosecution also comes with a common thread of financial corruption and mismanagement.
Zefizef remains a central figure in the FAF scandal, facing charges of dilapidation of public funds and abuse of office related to a 5 billion DZD deficit and the awarding of irregular contracts during his time as the federation’s president.
Having led the Algerian Football Federation from July 2022 to July 2023, Zefizef’s presidency ended abruptly with his resignation on July 16, 2023, following a failed bid for a seat on the CAF Executive Committee.
According to reports, that one-year term is also under intense legal security as part of a broader judicial investigation into the financial mismanagement that left the federation with a multi-billion DZD deficit.