French courts examine freezing assets of Rifaat Al-Assad

A judicial process is underway to examine a demand by two non-governmental organisations for the freezing of assets here belonging to Rifaat Al-Assad, brother of former Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad, official sources confirmed. Rifaat fled Syria in 1992 after a dispute with his brother and has resided alternatively in France and Spain ever since. He is also the uncle of Bashar Al-Assad and has been involved in various businesses in France and Spain over the past two decades. Rifaat is known to have had media and real estate activities in France over the past twenty years and owns considerable property. Two anti-corruption NGOs have submitted a complaint, alleging that the Al-Assad holdings in France are about to be liquidated, possibly to avoid seizure by an international jurisdiction later on. Asked to comment the reports, the French Foreign Ministry said that it was aware of the court proceedings. "A judicial procedure is under way. We have no comment on this subject," Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said at a briefing.