Chinese telecom outfits Huawei and ZTE have been banned from tendering for state contracts in Algeria for two years and been fined by a local court after being caught in a bribery scandal.

The pair bribed executives at the state owned telecoms network, Algérie Télécom. A former executive at the telecoms network, Mohamed Boukhari and a businessman, Chami Madjdoub have also been found guilty of receiving illegal payments and money laundering to conceal the sources of those payments.

The bribery took place between 2003 and 2006 and the two men were sentenced to 18 years in prison, have had their property confiscated and been fined US$64,000 each. Huawei and ZTE have been fined US$38,400 each and banned from tendering with state-owned companies for two years.

Three Chinese officials, Dong Tao, Chen Zhibo and Xiao Chuhfa were sentenced in their absence to 10 years in prison. Additionally, an international arrest warrant has been issued for their extradition back to the country.

However the two companies denied involvement. They said they were victims of the bribery. It said the problem was all caused by workers who were involved in a dodgy deal between each other.