The criminal court in Annaba has sentenced the former head of the commercial department of the National Tourism Office (ONT) to four years in prison. The defendant surrendered to authorities after spending over 30 years in France. He was accused of embezzling 800 million centimes alongside the former director of the local branch during the 'Black Decade'. An investigation launched in 1996 exposed systematic fraud involving international travel ticket revenues and the theft of employee bonuses. Evidence, including document tampering and illicit financial transfers to personal accounts rather than the agency's bank, led to the conviction despite the defendants' initial denials.