The European Council has decided to lift restrictions on three relatives of the late Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, potentially leading to the unfreezing of their assets and funds within the member states of the European Union. This decision, effective from January 30th, was published in the EU’s Official Journal, revoking the sanctions imposed since February 5, 2011, at the recommendation of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The individuals affected by this new decision include Samira Trabelsi, sister of Leila Trabelsi, the late president’s wife, along with his daughters Cyrine and Dorsaf Ben Ali.
This move is a setback for Tunisia’s efforts to recover funds illicitly taken out of the country during Ben Ali’s rule, which ended with his ousting in a popular uprising on January 14, 2011. Ben Ali, who rose to power in 1987, and his family, particularly after his marriage to Leila Trabelsi in the early 1990s, wielded significant influence in Tunisia and its economic landscape. Since 2011, Tunisia has only managed to retrieve about $30 million of the embezzled funds, which are estimated by the current President Kais Saied in 2022 to be around $5 billion.
Following the fall of Ben Ali’s regime, his family dispersed to various countries, living away from the public eye with their amassed wealth. The family had control over 21% of the country’s economy, according to a 2014 World Bank report. Some family members have passed away, while others are still pursued by the justice system for their economic and wide-reaching damages to sectors and families.
Leila Trabelsi, known as “the hairdresser” among most Tunisians, remains one of the most disliked figures from Ben Ali’s regime and is facing several legal charges. She lives abroad with her son Mohamed and daughter Nesrine. Her brothers, Imad and Belhassen Trabelsi, are accused of amassing a vast fortune by seizing national properties in Tunisia, enabling the “Trabelsi family” to create an empire encompassing public real estate, distribution channels, telecommunications and media companies, and car sales agencies. Belhassen, considered the family’s “godfather” and wealthiest businessman at 58 years old, initially fled to Italy by yacht and later moved to Canada. He lived in an apartment in Montreal until 2016, when his asylum request was denied, and he subsequently left the country.
