Scandal in Algeria, Chengriha's daughter staying in New York luxury hotel paid for with public money

For more than two months, the situation of the daughter of the head of the Algerian army, Said Chengriha, has provoked various voices within the Algerian parliament to call on the government to explain the expenses involved in her stay and her duties. According to Maghreb Intelligence, the official version of the Algerian government is that the reason for the transfer is to take up a post in the Permanent Representation of Algeria to the UN. 

The controversy stems from the sudden and hasty promotion of the daughter of the head of the Algerian army, which, moreover, was financed by taxpayers' money. Said Chengriha's daughter benefited from an unprecedented promotion in the Algerian diplomatic circuit after accumulating a "controversial" experience at the Algerian Consulate General in Geneva by landing in New York within the most prestigious UN institutions, including the complex administrative centre located on the banks of the East River in the borough of Manhattan. 

According to the intelligence magazine, both the Algerian army chief and senior commanders want to put an end to criticism of his daughter's living situation in New York, because the controversies between his children and his family are beginning to worry the chief of staff's inner circle, calling into question the moral principles of which he calls himself the defender within the military institution.

In response to these criticisms, instructions have been communicated to quickly find a suitable and rapid accommodation solution for Said Chengriha's daughter. The most knowledgeable experts on the Algerian regime, however, were not outraged by the appointment of Chengriha's daughter, simply because of who she is. 

Three of Chengriha's children currently work or reside abroad. A daughter who heads a key Sonatrach subsidiary in London, a son who works at the Algerian Embassy in Paris and a second daughter who works as a diplomat in New York. 

According to Maghreb Intelligence, the scandal actually stems from the housing and accommodation arrangements made for Chengriha's second daughter in New York. While the Algerian army is looking for another place to rehouse her, the daughter of the Algerian army chief of staff is being cared for, all expenses paid by the Algerian state, in a luxurious hotel in New York. 

Sources accessed by Maghreb Intelligence reported that the expense of the daughter's accommodation is "suspicious, extravagant" and, according to some Algerian diplomats, "scandalous and insolent". The approximate expenses to which the security magazine had access could be as high as $800 or even $900 per night at the famous Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York. 

America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra