Dictators' vast fortunes after the Arab Springs

The outbreak of the Arab Springs between 2010 and 2012 brought about a series of revolutionary changes aimed at changing the established order in favour of the struggle for democracy and social rights for the Arab population. These revolts led to the fall of governments such as Tunisia's under Ben Ali and the dictatorial regime in Egypt led by Hosni Mubarak. Similarly, these overthrows brought to light the vast fortunes of the dictators in this eastern region, which were amassed through corruption. 

A decade later, the whereabouts of these capitals are still under debate as their location remains unclear. Whereas some of these riches have been returned to the countries of origin, others remain frozen or in the hands of the rulers' families.

The controversial dictatorship of Tunisia's Ben Ali has been marked by a strong corruption that came to light with the outbreak of the Tunisian revolts against the regime, insurrections that later led to the detonation of the Arab Spring in 2011. 

After his overthrow, Ben Ali fled with his family to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he remained until his death in 2019. During this flight, the president's wife, Leila Trabelsi, took 1.5 tons of gold out of the bank. Following the arrest warrant issued by Interpol for the dictator, Switzerland announced the freezing of the accounts of Ali and his family for 10 years. 

Following this action by Switzerland, Ben Ali was prepared to give up all his assets in the Alpine country in favour of the Tunisian people, according to his lawyer. Tunisian sources claim that the dictator's family controlled 40 per cent of the Tunisian economy.

After 10 years of freezing accounts, Switzerland finally transferred the 3.5 million Tunisian dinars linked to the former president, or $1.27 million, to the Central Bank of Tunisia on Saturday.

Tunisia's current president, Kais Saied, affirmed this move by stressing that "the Swiss Authorities have transferred 3.5 million TND of former President Ben Ali related assets to the Tunisian Central Ban".

However, international observers have pointed out that Ali's family could recover the millions stored in Switzerland once the deadline expires. Among his family members, his widow, Leila Trabelsi, and his brother Belhassen could benefit. According to the NGO Public Eye, 36 other people related to Ali could benefit from this wealth.

In Egypt, one of the main drivers of the civil protests were the high-profile corruption cases carried out by dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Citizen pressure against Mubarak led to the first democratic elections in 2012, resulting in the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood. Convicted of complicity in the killing of protesters during the Arab Spring uprisings and accused of committing human rights violations, Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment on 2 June 2012.

However, Mubarak spent his last 18 days in power allocating his fortune to accounts that could not be traced by the authorities, a strategy closely followed by other Middle Eastern dictators so that his wealth could not be seized during the transition. According to the Guardian, the Egyptian president's family amassed $70 billion during his 30-year rule, equivalent to 37 per cent of the country's GDP.

In addition, some sources indicate that the money obtained through corruption may have exceeded $1 billion. Meanwhile, more than half of Egypt's 80 million inhabitants were trying to live on less than two dollars a day.

This capital is said to be held in Scottish banks and Swiss financial institutions such as UBS and Credit Suisse, banks that announced the freezing of the former president's and his family's assets when the conviction was handed down.

On 17 February 2011, protests began in Libya aimed at ending Gaddafi's long dictatorship and establishing a democratic system. These insurrections against the dictator ended with his assassination by militiamen of the National Transitional Council.

For more than 40 years, Muammar Gaddafi was dictator in Libya, a country with rich oil and gas resources. During his time in power, Gaddafi managed to amass a vast fortune, which some sources put at almost 180 billion euros.

This money was spread over several accounts in Belgian banks. An investigation led by Belgian state prosecutor Georges Gilkinet revealed that "around 5 billion euros had disappeared from Belgian banks". Gilkinet added that "the Belgian government has not complied with the UN resolution to freeze Libyan assets, especially those belonging to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi". 

Investigations now suggest that part of Gaddafi's fortune may be in South Africa and France.