A Tunisian court has sentenced businessman Marouan Mabrouk, one of the country’s wealthiest figures, to 20 years in prison on corruption charges, while former prime minister Youssef Chahed received a six-year sentence in a separate case, lawyers said on Tuesday.
Mabrouk has been in detention since late 2023. Chahed, who served as prime minister from 2016 to 2020, is currently outside Tunisia.
In November 2023, a public prosecutor ordered Mabrouk’s arrest on suspicion of misappropriating funds from state-owned companies.
A judicial official told Reuters at the time that Mabrouk, the son-in-law of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was under investigation for allegedly diverting public money. Authorities did not disclose how much was allegedly taken or which companies were affected.
Accountability
The Tunisian state had taken control of several companies linked to Ben Ali’s family after the 2011 revolution that ended his decades-long rule.
Mabrouk belongs to one of Tunisia’s most influential business families, with interests spanning banking, telecommunications, retail and automotive distribution. He controls a major supermarket chain and holds stakes in BIAT Bank, French telecom group Orange, and a local biscuit manufacturer.
Unlike many relatives of Ben Ali who fled Tunisia after 2011, Mabrouk remained in the country. However, critics have long accused successive governments of shielding him from accountability.
President Kais Saied, who consolidated power in 2021 by dissolving parliament, launched a renewed anti-corruption drive in 2022.
He established a committee tasked with recovering funds from business figures accused of financial misconduct, vowing that the state would reclaim what it is owed.
