Algeria’s national audit court (Cour des Comptes) says holes in the tax declarations made by state oil giant Sonatrach are such that it is “impossible to verify” the company’s accounts. This follows a string of corruption scandals which have tainted Sonatrach in recent years.

The court, in its freshly-released review of Algeria’s 2011 budget, says that Algeria’s tax authorities “lack the appropriate means to verify the tax declarations of Sonatrach and its affiliates.” (CONTINUED - 362 WORDS)