In a recent parliamentary session, Algeria’s Minister of the Interior and Transport, Saïd Sayoud, delivered a stark revelation: the state’s 750 euro tourist allowance—a subsidy designed to facilitate citizen travel abroad—has become the target of a sophisticated and large-scale criminal enterprise. This announcement was not a prelude to canceling the popular benefit, but rather a candid exposé of its systemic exploitation and the government’s new, determined strategy to save it from fraudsters.
The scale of the fraud is staggering. Minister Sayoud detailed a well-oiled scheme where intermediaries and complicit travel agencies orchestrate “tourist” trips that exist only on paper. The modus operandi involves legally transporting Algerians, often unemployed individuals recruited as mules, across the border into Tunisia. Their passports are stamped to simulate a legitimate exit, only for them to be immediately turned around and brought back to Algeria before the legal stay period concludes. This cynical shuttle service is then repeated multiple times for the same individuals, allowing criminal networks to illicitly claim the 750 euro allowance again and again. The result? Nearly 100,000 fraudulent cases recorded in just a month and a half, representing a massive hemorrhage of foreign currency from state coffers into the pockets of organized crime.
This is more than simple abuse; it’s a structural attack on a social program. The fraud distorts the allowance’s fundamental purpose—enabling genuine tourism and cultural exchange—into a mechanism for currency speculation. It disadvantages honest citizens while draining public resources meant for collective welfare.
In response, the government has moved swiftly with concrete countermeasures. A key intervention is the new requirement for **prior licenses for cross-border travel agency buses**. This isn’t mere bureaucracy; it’s a critical control point. By regulating the very vehicles used in these shuttle scams, authorities can now track movements, verify passenger manifests, and disrupt the logistical backbone of the fraud network. This measure has already exposed the shocking scale of complicity, leaving some agencies unable to justify their operations or even manage travelers genuinely stranded abroad.
Amidst this crackdown, Minister Sayoud offered a crucial reassurance: **”The travel allowance is not being called into question. It is a right guaranteed to citizens.”** This statement is pivotal. It signals that the government’s objective is reform, not removal. The goal is to surgically remove the cancer of fraud while preserving the healthy tissue of a legitimate social benefit. The state is now focused on building robust “legal and organizational frameworks” to insulate the program from future abuse.
The most innovative and telling solution under consideration is the **introduction of a 750 euro prepaid card**. This proposed tool is a game-changer. Unlike cash or untraceable bank transfers, a dedicated prepaid card would allow the state to monitor where and how the funds are spent. It could be geographically restricted to the destination country and limited to legitimate tourism-related expenses (accommodation, tours, transportation, dining), making it worthless to traffickers seeking raw currency. This shift from cash to controlled value represents a modern approach to subsidy management, prioritizing transparency and purpose.
This case transcends a simple news item about fraud. It highlights a universal governance challenge: how to design social benefits that are both accessible to legitimate beneficiaries and resilient to criminal exploitation. The Algerian authorities are now engaged in a delicate balancing act—tightening controls enough to eliminate fraud without making the process so onerous that it negates the allowance’s benefit for honest citizens. Their multi-pronged strategy, combining regulatory action (bus licensing), technological innovation (the prepaid card), and legal reform, offers a blueprint for other nations grappling with similar issues in subsidy programs. The ultimate aim is clear: to restore trust, protect public finances, and ensure that a right granted to citizens truly serves its intended social purpose.