Tunisian energy minister targeted in corruption probe

Tunisia's energy minister has appeared before a judge on graft suspicions, a judicial source said today, the latest high-ranking official to face allegations amid a crackdown in the North African state.
Khaled Kaddour -- whose portfolio covers the lucrative energy and mining sectors -- was brought before an investigating judge on Thursday but the interrogation was postponed to December 4 after a request from his lawyer, the source told AFP.
Kaddour -- a former oil executive who has only been in the job since September -- is suspected of "administrative and financial corruption" inside his ministry, the source said.
The press service for the Tunisian government told AFP it did not have any information on the reported probe, and said the minister remained in office.

The latest allegations come after the head of Tunisia's government Youssef Chahed in May 2017 said he was launching a war on graft in the country.
Several senior officials and businessmen have been caught up in the anti-corruption drive, and in August the government's interim finance minister was forced out after it emerged he had a conviction for corruption.