Summary:

In late July 2024, an investigation into corruption and mismanagement at TunisAir led to arrest warrants for the current CEO of TunisAir and the head of the TunisAir employee’s union, both of which were taken into custody for questioning. 

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The charges stemming from the investigation include various efforts to leverage a public position for personal gain, harming the administration, forgery, and various forms of bribery.  

TunisAir CEO Khaled Chelli was taken into custody the evening of 30 July 2024 and the head of the TunisAir employees union, Najmeddine Mzoughi, was detained on 27 July 2024 as he attempted to cross into Libya. 

The latest developments in the investigation follow an April 2024 visit by President Saied to a TunisAir facility. At that time, TunisAir’s recruitment practices were under scrutiny with accusations that some employees used fake diplomas to justify their qualification for various positions. 

Outlook: 

The evolution of the corruption investigation at TunisAir has followed a now established pattern of President Saied engaging a particular government agency or company with his personal attention, which is then shortly followed by changes in senior leadership or even arrests. 

The focus of these various investigations, including at TunisAir, appear practical to some extent, with the President seeking to address the most blatant instances of corruption. However, there remains a political aspect of the investigations as well as the President seeks to position himself as a virtuous defender of the people against the corruption of other officials. This politicization of corruption has long been criticized as a means by which President Saied has silenced political opponents and critics while pandering to populist demands for progress on practical issues. 

The corruption and mismanagement at TunisAir are far from red herrings, as international rankings have consistently ranked it as the “worst performing” airline in the world, and passengers regularly complain about the cleanliness, safety, and customer service of the airline. 

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