An Italian court, on Thursday, ordered the repatriation of a luxury yacht belonging to ousted Tunisian ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali which was seized after his overthrow during the “Arab Spring” uprisings.
The yacht, together with “a considerable sum of money” held in an Italian bank account, will be sent to Tunisia as soon as logistics have been finalized, the Rome court said in a statement. It gave no details about the size of the assets.
Tunisian authorities asked Italy to seize the boat and other assets after Ben Ali’s fall, the court said. Tunisia then asked for the possessions back, and the court granted their request.
On December 22, Tunisia began a month-long public auction of the assets of Ben Ali and his relatives to raise funds for state coffers.
The goods included dozens of luxury sedan and sports cars owned by the former president and his wife Leila Trabelsi.
