December 14th Tunisian state news agency quoted Swiss media as saying that the frozen assets of former Tunisian President Ben Ali and his cronies in Switzerland will expire in January 2021.
How to dispose of this illegal asset is subject to further discussion between the two sides.
According to Tunisian media reports, the Swiss government said in a statement recently that after the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Tunisia in early 2011, the Swiss government ordered a freeze on the assets of the overthrown President Ben Ali of Tunisia and his cronies in Switzerland, totaling about 60 million Swiss francs (about 6,700 Swiss francs). US dollars).
According to the report, according to the provisions of Switzerland’s “Illicit Assets Freezing and Restitution Act of Foreign Special Political Figures”, the maximum period for freezing foreign assets is 10 years.
If the countries concerned are willing to cooperate within the framework of mutual legal assistance, the freeze period can be extended again.
If the frozen assets are to be returned, Tunisia must make a “final and enforceable judgment” on the person concerned, order the confiscation of its assets in Switzerland, and explain the link between these assets and the criminal offence of the person concerned.
In its statement, the Swiss government said that if Tunisia wishes to recover frozen assets, the relevant judicial procedures should be accelerated.
Ben Ali became the President of Tunisia on November 7, 1987, and has been re-elected four times since then. He was forced to step down in the “Arab Spring” that broke out in January 2011 and fled to Saudi Arabia with his family.
Between 2011 and 2012, Tunisian courts sentenced Ben Ali to 35 years’ imprisonment and life imprisonment and a fine of 65.6 million US dollars for embezzlement and murder. Ben Ali died in Saudi Arabia in September 2019 at the age of 83.
