Spanish raids seize Assad uncle's assets in corruption probeApril 4, 2017 - 18:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Spain has ordered properties to be seized and bank accounts frozen in a money laundering investigation linked to the family of Rifaat al-Assad, according to BBC News. Judiciary officials said that the uncle of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was handed $300m of public money when he was sent into exile in 1984. Now aged 79, he was placed under formal investigation in France last year. Some of his fortune ended up in property in Marbella and Puerto Banus on the south coast, officials said. While his brother Hafez al-Assad was in power, Rifaat was renowned for the brutality with which he crushed an uprising in the Syrian city of Hama in 1982. Last year he was said to be living in Paris. He is under investigation in France for concealing stolen assets, money laundering and fiscal fraud. Several luxury properties have already been seized by French authorities in Paris and an appeal by the exiled former vice-president was turned down. Rifaat al-Assad has in the past said he was given the money by the Saudi royal family. The general council of Spain's judiciary said it was acting after French investigators found that part of his fortune had ended up in property in the Marbella area, under the name of companies managed by his wives and two of his children. In a statement (in Spanish), it said that 15 properties search orders had been carried out, mainly in Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol. While the bank accounts of 16 individuals linked to the exiled Syrian were being blocked, another 76 accounts were also affected. Investigators said in total 503 properties linked to the family had been found, ranging from car parks to holiday homes, flats and a luxury hotel. Their total value was put at €691m ($735m) and all had been seized, they said. One of the properties was a large farm called La Máquina worth an estimated €60m. Photo: AP Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |