France opens investigation on ousted Tunisian President Ben Ali's assets

[News_Editor]

France opens investigation on ousted Tunisian President Ben Ali's assets

2011-01-25 01:31:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

PARIS (BNO NEWS) -- France on Monday opened an investigation over assets of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Radio France Internationale reported.

The investigation was launched by Paris’s state prosecutor office into Ben Ali's real estate assets. It is believed that the fortune of former Tunisian president is worth around 3.6 billion Euros ($4.91 billion).

Three activist groups filed a civil lawsuit against Ben Ali which prompted the prosecutor office's investigation. The suit accuses the ex-Tunisian leader of plundering the African country's resources during the 23 years he was at the helm.

The suit claimed that Ben Ali owns property in Paris worth 37 million Euros ($50.49 million) and has assets in several French banks. It was filed by Sherpa, Transparency International and the Arab Commission for Human Rights.

The charges against Ben Ali include corruption, laundering of public funds and misuse of assets. Last week, Switzerland froze the bank accounts and other related assets of the former president.

Ben Ali fled recently from Tunisia as citizens organized a series of demonstrations against economic issues which resulted in violent riots against police forces. The government was dismissed and the country is currently under a power vacuum that could leader to dictatorship.

The demonstrations increased after reports surfaced indicating that the family of the Tunisian leader fled Tunisia with 1.5 tons of gold. An investigation was launched on this allegations.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-01-25