Lebanon has returned to Tunisia around USD 29 million of “looted assets” held by the family of ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a Lebanese bank.
The cheque for USD 28.8 million, which had been in a Lebanese bank account belonging to Ben Ali’s wife Laila Trabelsi, handed to Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki by Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, the head of the UN' Stolen Asset Recovery team on Thursday.
Marri was named UN Special Advocate for Stolen Asset Recovery in September 2012 to recover money from leaders ousted in popular uprisings.
Ben Ali and his wife fled Saudi Arabia in January 2011 and the Saudi King Abdullah gave them refuge following popular uprising which ended his 23-year rule.
Local media say billions of dollars obtained illegally by Ben Ali and his associates, remain unaccounted for, but the exact amount is not known.
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