Tunisian Energy Minister, Officials Dismissed Over Graft Accusations

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed sacked the energy minister, Khaled Kaddour, and four other senior figures linked to that ministry Aug. 31 over corruption accusations, government officials said.

Chahed ordered an investigation and the merger of the ministries of energy and industry, an official source told Reuters. One of the officials denied any wrong doing, but there was no immediate comment from the minister or the others.

Government spokesman Iyad Dahmani said the sacked were accused of allowing a Tunisian investor to explore the Halk Manzel oil field—one of the country’s most important sites—without having to go through a licensing round.

The deal over the oil field near the coastal city of Monastir also came with unjustified tax privileges, Dahmani said.