Ex-Tunisian president’s son-in-law found guilty of aiding corruption

A torn banner of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Keystone

A son-in-law of the former Tunisian dictator Ben Ali has been found guilty of aiding and abetting corruption by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland. He was fined and received a suspended sentence, and the funds in question were confiscated.

The suspect was due to appear before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, canton Ticino, at the beginning of November. But as his appeal was withdrawn, the original sentence now comes into effect, the office told the Swiss News Agency. This confirms a report in the Zentralschweiz am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

The attorney general’s office had found the man guilty of complicity in corruption and had fined him CHF375,000, ($371,000), with a two-year suspended sentence.

According to Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, the man in question is Slim Chiboub, Ben Ali’s son-in-law, who is an entrepreneur.

The legal documents seen by the Swiss News Agency state that the guilty man acted as an intermediary in a corruption case in Libya involving the Canadian engineering group SNC-Lavalin and one of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons. He was paid in exchange for his help.