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A prominent Algerian businesswoman, allegedly an illegitimate child of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was jailed for 12 years on corruption charges on Thursday, after a court rejected her appeal.
The court also upheld a six million dinar fine ($47,000) imposed by a lower court in October and ordered the confiscation of her properties, the official APS news agency reported.
Zoulikha Nachinache, widely known as Madame Maya, was found guilty of money laundering, influence peddling, squandering public funds and illicit transfer of foreign currency abroad.
The businesswoman argued in court that she was close to Bouteflika through her father who had been a friend of the president since before Bouteflika took office in 1999.