Properties Controlled by Assad’s Uncle Seized in European Laundering Inquiry<br />A Spanish judge, José de la Mata Amaya, ordered the seizure of properties in Spain<br />that are controlled by Rifaat al-Assad or his family and are worth 691 million euros, or about $736 million.<br />In a news release, Spain’s National Court called the assets "a fortune from the coffers of the Syrian state." "In the 1980s, his brother and then-president expelled him from the country, fearing<br />that he would organize a coup," the court said, referring to Rifaat al-Assad.<br />The investigation carried out by the French judicial authorities led to the conclusion<br />that this fortune, embezzled from public funds, was used for personal gain and to the detriment of the Syrian state." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.<br />In December, in cooperation with other European Union countries, the Spanish authorities found<br />that Mr. Assad had holdings in his name in Spain that were registered under entities controlled by relatives, including two of his children and a wife.<br />By MARK A. WALSHAPRIL 4, 2017<br />LONDON — Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, was named on Tuesday in a European money laundering investigation.<br />The laundering investigation, carried out jointly by France and Spain, asserts<br />that Hafez al-Assad looted the Syrian Treasury to pay off his brother and, possibly, to keep him from meddling in the country’s affairs.
