Parisian secrets Ben Ali

A guide to the apartments of the cursory ruler of Tunisia

A big walk. The curtain of secrets over the wealth of the overthrown of the Tunisian President Zin El Abydin Ben Ali is ajar: in Paris alone, his clan, as it turned out, owns the competent real estate objects, the total cost of which can reach € 200 million at the disposal of The New Times turned out to be a complete list of these mansions and apartments

The compiler of the list - the non -governmental organization "Sherpa" insists on "the return of the looted property to the Tunisian people." But first it is necessary to determine the size of the losses in numbers. The Ben Ali clan purchased real estate wisely: the size of the apartments is not indicated in the cadastral documents - it is not yet possible to name their market price. True, in the documents opposite almost every apartment there is a note “Lux” or “Superlux”: it means about 12-15 thousand per meter. According to the New Times, the general director of Sherpa Mod Perdriel-Overcier, "the police promised to share information with us for the price as soon as something appeared."
Family affairs
The fact that it was in France that the main assets of the Ben Ali clan were found is not surprising: since the French protectorate over Tunisia (1883–1956), the Tunisian top is closely connected with the elite of the former metropolis. The flashed scandal around the Foreign Minister of Foreign Minister Michelle Alo-Marie, who, as it turned out, supported close friendly and business ties with the Tunisian oligarch Aziz Miladom, close to the Ben Ali clan, it has been confirmed once again , which at the end of December 2010 alo-Mari flew on a Christmas vacation on a personal aircraft, and on January 14, on January 14 On the same plane, the overthrown Ben Ali flew into the exile. . Contacted Ben Ali, buying tidbits in France, were confident in the safety of such investments. “The logic is simple: we buy assets in France, in return to us French politicians-shares in our business, which means everyone is interested in each other,” the Tunisian journalist Ahmed Lais, which lives in Paris, explains this business scheme for The New Times. For example, the parents of Alo-Mari, as it turned out, bought from Aziz Milady a share in his “family” company Socité Civile Immobiliere (SCI) * * * * in France with this form of ownership, are created so that several people, often members of the same family or friends, can manage some kind of real estate. . However, the hopes of the Ben Ali clan did not materialize: the investigation against the French family assets was open exactly a week after the fall of the regime.
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In 2005, more than $ 700 million belonging to the deceased by that time Nigerian dictator Sani Abach were transferred to the Nigerian authorities under the control of the World Bank

" In search of gold
On January 24, on the complaint of Sherpas, the Paris prosecutor's office began an investigation regarding the sources of funds for which the relatives of Ben Ali bought real estate in Paris * * In Tunisia itself the prosecutor's office began the investigation on January 19 - two days after the president left the country. . And on January 31, the EU member heads of the EU members at a meeting in Brussels decided to freeze Ben Ali's accounts in European banks. According to estimates, the total condition of the presidential clan can reach? 5 billion. Almost all large companies in Tunisia were controlled by his relatives and close friends: banks, tour operators, large hotels, telecommunication companies, automobile dealers, retail chains ... As the New Times Ahmed Lais explained, now French law enforcement agencies are investigating four accusations, and now the French law enforcement agencies. Tunisian prosecutor’s prosecutor’s office put forward against Ben Ali and his clan: “Illegal acquisition of movable and immovable property”, “illegal withdrawal of funds abroad”, “illegal export of currency” and “legalization of funds received by criminal means”. So far, according to the interlocutor of the magazine, "the results are very modest." For example, there are rumors that the wife of ex-president of Tunisia Leila Trabelsi a month before the Jasmine Revolution transported part of the Tunisian Golden Fund * * Leila Trabelsi to the withdrawal from the Golden Fund of Tunisia of one and a half tons of gold in the amount? 45 million. No traces have been found yet. Maybe the entire Tunisian Golden Fund flew to Saudi Arabia with the president? This version causes Ahmed Laisa a grin: “Is there any 100 percent evidence that Ben Ali is located in Saudia? They are not! "
No need to rush
Nevertheless, Ms. Perdriel-Overword does not lose optimism: she is sure that her organization will be able to shed light on the origin of the state of Ben Ali's clan. Sherpa began work on the “Tunisian project” three years ago, long before the Jasmine Revolution, she says The New Times, and constantly met obstacles from the French authorities: “Our complaints did not accept, numerous instances passed much longer than expected.” According to Sherpas, the relatives of Ben Ali for the most part settled in the prestigious 16th district of the capital: it is located as if in the continuation of the Champs Elysees, beyond the triumphal arch. A square meter in this area costs from? 10 thousand to? 15 thousand.
So what - restitution is inevitable? Jean-Noel Ferier, director of the research program at the branch of the French National Center for Scientific Research in Morocco, does not advise rushing to the conclusions: it is too early to predict the fate of European property of the Ben Ali. “Today, there is only one major precedent of the return of funds in the world: in 2005, more than $ 700 million belonging to the deceased by the Nigerian dictator Sani Abach were transferred to the Nigerian authorities under the control of the World Bank,” the expert recalls in a conversation with The New Times. However, Ms. Perdriel-Ovenser is confident that in the case of Ben Ali, the transfer of assets will occur under the control of international institutions, regardless of whether the real estate belonging to his family will be sold from the auction or simply transferred to the new authorities of Tunisia.
Together with a complaint against the family of Ben Ali, the Paris prosecutor's office accepted the similar claims of the Sherpas against the rulers of the Congo, the equatorial Guinea and Gabon. According to Ms. Perdriel-Ovenser, Russia is not on the list yet, but it will appear “sooner or later”: “Corrupated Russian officials settled in Europe.”

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