Samantha Mythen
SPAIN’S National Court has ruled it lacks jurisdiction to prosecute the eight defendants on trial for allegedly stealing and laundering €700 million through corporate networks in Spain and Gibraltar.
The defence had raised that the trial be annulled on Monday, arguing that, as the alleged money laundering was committed in Malaga’s Marbella, the trial should be held in the Provincial Court of Malaga.
The prosecution, seeking prison sentences of six years and fines of €2.1 million for the defendants, has argued the crimes have an international dimension, thus conferring jurisdiction to Spain’s National Court.
However, the Criminal Division of the National Court upheld the defence’s preliminary issues on Tuesday, suspending the case. The parties may appeal the decision.
Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar’s 87-year-old uncle and former vice president, was also meant to stand trial as the alleged head of a corporate company created in Gibraltar for money laundering. The ‘Butcher of Hama’ withdrew from trial however, due to health reasons.
Six of the defendants are relatives of the former Syrian dictator, most of them Rifaat’s sons.
It’s claimed Rifaat obtained massive amounts of illicit resources from criminal activities including extortion, threats, smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal plundering from the Syrian treasury.
Rifaat already faces a four-year prison sentence in France for money laundering through real estate worth €90 million. National Court prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison sentence and a €2.7 million fine for him.
He is also wanted in Switzerland to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the violent suppression of the 1982 rebellion in Hama. More than 10,000 people were killed, with the independent Syrian Network for Human Rights estimating the deaths could be as high as 40,000. There he earned his infamous ‘butcher’ nickname.
The history of the Assads’ involvement in Spain traces back to 1986, when the family acquired 244 parking spaces in Spain through a company based in the Rock.
Later Spanish investments included the purchase of 507 real estate properties and businesses in Málaga province including a 33 million square meter estate in Benahavís, Benabola’s Hotel Park Plaza Suites and the Plaza Beach Banús. The Prosecutor’s Office estimates the properties’ total worth to be around €700 million.
The case was referred to the provincial Malaga court.
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