Ben Ali-linked funds may total SFr80 million
The authorities have told a Sunday newspaper that Swiss assets linked to ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali may amount to SFr80 million ($85 million).
Previously officials had spoken of tens of millions of Swiss francs after they froze the assets on January 19, five days after Ben Ali fled Tunisia.
The Federal Police Office told the SonntagsZeitung that suspicious assets with a link to Tunisia totalling SFr80 million had come to light. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is looking into the development.
Since the decision to block the funds reported to be from Ben Ali and his entourage, the authorities have received around 30 reports of possible money laundering, a spokeswoman told the newspaper.
The new Tunisian authorities filed an official request for legal assistance in January.
Ben Ali and his family fled to Saudi Arabia in January in the wake of weeks of protests in countries including such as Egypt and Libya.
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