Brussels, 28/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 28 January, the Council extended by one year (in other words, until 31 January 2017) a freeze on the assets of 48 people deemed to be responsible for the misappropriation of state funds in Tunisia and those associated with them - including former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, his wife and those close to him.
The decision to extend the sanctions will be published in the Official Journal of the EU on 29 January 2016.
These sanctions were initially introduced on 31 January 2011 (see EUROPE 10305) and have been renewed annually. The EU decided to sanction these 48 Tunisians because they were the subject of a judicial investigation of the Tunisian authorities for the acquisition of property and assets, for the opening of bank accounts and the holding of financial assets in several countries as part of money laundering operations. These 48 people are not, however, subject to a visa ban for entering the EU.
In November 2012, the Council also adopted measures for facilitating the recovery of embezzled funds to the Tunisian authorities by authorising the EU member states to release the assets that were frozen as part of the sanctions against the former Ben Ali regime (see EUROPE 10738). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)