France jails Assad's uncle for money laundering
International Desk Published: 17 June 2020, 10:00 PM
The uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to four years in prison by a Paris court for money-laundering, reports BBC.
Rifaat al-Assad was convicted of embezzling Syrian state funds to buy homes and offices worth €90m (£80m) to build a French property portfolio.
The 82-year-old former vice-president denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers say he will appeal.
His property assets in Paris and London will be seized, the court ruled.
Assad, who was hospitalised with internal bleeding in France in December, was not in court for the ruling and is unlikely to serve his sentence due to his age. His London property is believed to be worth €29m (£26m).
