The French public prosecutor has ordered a four-year sentence for Rifaat al-Assad in the money laundering process. In addition, the uncle of the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad should pay a fine of ten million euros. All of his properties in France are to be confiscated, the prosecutor demands.
Rifaat al-Assad is accused of embezzling public funds from Syria, money laundering and tax evasion. The 82-year-old is said to have illegally acquired real estate worth around 90 million euros in France alone, and is said to have evaded the Syrian funds between 1984 and 2016.
Assets of 400 to 500 million euros confiscated
In Spain he faces a similar money laundering case. Al-Assad rejects the allegations. The French judiciary had already confiscated several of Rifaat al-Assad's properties because of the trial. These include two houses in Paris, a stud farm and a castle northwest of the capital, and an office complex in Lyon.
The French organization Sherpa and Transparency International got the case rolling. According to Sherpa, a total of 400 to 500 million euros of property from Assad's uncle was confiscated in the EU. (Read more about family activities in Europe here.)
Rifaat Assad is a brother of the former Syrian President Hafis al-Assad, the father of the current ruler Bashar al-Assad. He was temporarily the Vice President of Syria, but was ousted from power by his brother in the 1980s. According to media reports, he lives in Great Britain and France.