زين العابدين بن علي
The Ex-president of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was born in Hamman-Sousse on 3 September 1936. He was a president for 23 years before stepping down in January 2011 due to a wave of demonstrations, that have seen several protesters killed. Over his long rule, Ben Ali’s extended family was said to take control over many areas of Tunisia’s business. After the regime fell, Tunisian authorities seized 220 companies owned by the family members which controlled 21% of private-sector profits. Ben Ali and his wife Leïla Trabelsi were found guilty in absentia by a Tunisian court for embezzlement and misuse of public funds, and sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, they both currently remain in Saudi Arabia, together with their children Halima and Mohamed. [1] [2] [3]
Information
| IDENTIFYING INFORMATION | Former President |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 03.09.1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tunisia, Hammam Sousse |
| NATIONALITY | Tunisia |
| COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE | Saudi Arabia |
| FULL NAME | Zine El Abidine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Haj Hassen Ben Ali |
| FIRST AND MIDDLE NAME(S) | Zine El Abidine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Haj Hassen |
| ALIASES | Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali |
| FAMILY MEMBERS | Leila Trabelsi - spouse Nesrine Ben Ali - daughter Halima Ben Ali - daughter Cyrine Ben Ali - daughter Dorsaf Ben Ali - daughter Ghazoua Ben Ali - daughter |
| FAMILY MEMBERS SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS | Leila Trabelsi - spouse Nesrine Ben Ali - daughter Halima Ben Ali - daughter Ghazoua Ben Ali - daughter |
| SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED LINKS TO OVERSEAS PROPERTIES | Property in Frankfurt, Germany, belonging to one of his daughters. [1] |
| SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED LINKS TO BANK ACCOUNTS | German accounts. [1] |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS FROZEN OR CONFISCATED | Unknown amounts in Germany. [1] $80 million frozen or seized in Switzerland, France, Belgium and Italy. [2] $61.75 million in Switzerland alone. [3] |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS RETURNED | Two planes (France, Switzerland) and two yachts (Italy and Spain). [1] Assets from Switzerland in two rounds - first around €225,000, followed by €3.5 million in 2017. [2] |
| SANCTIONS IMPOSED | EU Misappropriation sanctions. [1] |
| START OF SANCTIONS | 04.02.2011 [1] |