CORRUPTION IN TUNISIA PART IV: THE FAMILY'S HOLDINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001672



SIPDIS



NOFORN

SIPDIS



STATE FOR NEA/MAG - HARRIS



E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2016

TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, TS

SUBJECT: CORRUPTION IN TUNISIA PART IV: THE FAMILY'S

HOLDINGS



REF: A. TUNIS (PART 3)

B. TUNIS 1630

C. TUNIS 1622



Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM HUDSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d)



1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: This is the last of a four cable series

on corruption's impact on the Tunisian economy and Tunisia's

political future. The Ben Ali and Trabelsi clans are an

increasingly large group that has established important

control in major business sectors, the media, and in the

politically significant sports world. While verifying the

rumors of their holdings is nearly impossible, as few can or

will confirm particular assets, the extent of these rumors

provides some evidence of their accuracy. Part Four of this

series discusses who are the major family members and what

are their holdings. The list is not exhaustive, but

represents what most observers believe to be the facts about

the First Family's businesses. END SUMMARY.



2. (C/NF) When talking about corruption, Tunisians rarely

discuss President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali without mentioning

"the Family" which includes the extended families of his

children and his present wife, Leila (ne Trabelsi). In

Tunisia's small subset of commercial actors, it seems at

least half of the elite are rumored to be somehow related or

connected to the President. The notion of a protected elite

is nothing new to any developing country, and jokes,

anecdotes and fanciful rumors about clan members are

abundant. But over the course of the last ten years, the

Family's influence has grown significantly and Tunisians'

anxiety about this has grown proportionately.



3. (C) Ben Ali's family can most easily be understood in

terms of two major lineages: children and in-laws from his

first wife, Naima Kefi, and the relatives of his present

wife, Leila Trabelsi. Ben Ali has three daughters with Kefi:

Ghaouna, Dorsaf, and Cyrine (married respectively to Slim

Zarrouk, Slim Chiboub, and Marouene Mabrouk; each of whom is

a significant economic actor). Ben Ali also has three

children with current wife, Leila: Nesrine (19),Halima

(13),and Mohamed Zine el Abidine (1). Ben Ali has seven

siblings, while wife Leila is believed to have ten, the most

notorious of whom is her brother, Belhassen Trabelsi. In

addition to these direct family members, there is a variety

of other key actors who are believed to be successful due to

their marriage ties to the Ben Alis or Trabelsis.



4. (C/NF) The Family's financial interests involve a sharing

or spreading of wealth that has a geographic dimension: the

First Lady's side is believed to dominate the greater Tunis

region; the President's side exercises more power in the

central coastal region where he was born. While this

division is relevant in the business world, observers also

believe that Leila's growing influence and interests may at

times conflict with Ben Ali's political plans. Senior

officials are often rumored to be "Trabelsi-supported" or

"Ben Ali-backed," with few believed to be favored by both the

President and First Lady.



5. (C/NF) The following is an overview of the key family

members and their business holdings. While some of the firms

mentioned below are publicly known to be owned by specific

family members, other business activities remain unconfirmed,

as those directly involved are unwilling or unable to share

the details. Average Tunisians have many stories about who

owns what and how they acquired it, however, evidence is

almost always unavailable and specifics vary depending on who

is telling the story. As in many countries, it is also

believed that family members register new holdings in the

names of their children, friends or other contacts in order

to restrict the knowledge of their activities. Given these

limitations, post has attempted to provide as complete and as

accurate a compilation as possible.



I. Ben Ali's Relations

--------------



6. (C/NF) Presidential siblings: President Ben Ali has seven

siblings: Moncef, Houria, Hayet, Slaheddine, Tijani, Naima,

and Najet. Prior to his death in 1996, Moncef Ben Ali was a

known drug trafficker and black market trader. An

international arrest warrant was issued for his arrest in

France in 1992 and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in

absentia. Moncef has two children, son Sofiane (married to



Hedi Djilani's daughter, see para 15) and a daughter.

Sofiane is the local partner of international duty free

services Weitnauer Group, operating concessions at Tunisian

airports. Houria has three sons: Ajmi, Hichem, and Mohamed

Frej Daous: Ajmi and Hichem both run hotels in Sousse;

Mohamed is a former governor of Tunisia,s Central Bank.

Family members also head the Northern Sousse Development

Society (Societe de Developpement de Sousse Nord).



7. (C/NF) Ben Ali,s sister Hayet is based in Germany but

owns hotels and property in the Sousse region; she has three

sons: Mehdi, Hamed, and Doraid. Mehdi was the former

Environment Minister, Hamed is a Presidential Advisor, and

Doraid imports automobiles. Brother Slaheddine has one son,

Kais, and together they import used clothing and scrap metal,

trade in luxury cars, and are allegedly involved in the black

market alcohol trade. They also own the real estate firm

Societe Immobiliere Monia and the Adam Park (a theme park in

the Sousse area). Brother Tijani is CEO of the Societe

Minerva Immobiliere, another real estate development company,

and is a key shareholder in Aero-Travel, an airport services

company. Sister Naima and family are involved in the luxury

car market. Sister Najet is married to Sadok M'Hiri;

together, they have two sons Neji and Dhafrallah. Family

holdings include Societe El Almana Import/Export, Meublatex

group, Les Metiers, Meubles Modulaires, Panabois, Profilex,

Le Matelas, Polymeuble, Ste. Tiossage, Panoverre, Mouradi

Hotel Chain, Karthago Airlines (shareholders),and Deternet.

Dhafrallah was former head of Agence Tunisienne d'Internet

and director general of TunisAir.



II. First Lady,s Family

--------------



8. (C/NF) First Lady Leila (Trabelsi) Ben Ali has ten known

siblings, including Belhassen, Imed, Moncef, Bdiri, Jelila,

Adel, and Mourad. Other prominent relatives include her

mother, Hajja Nana, considered the "doyenne" of the family,

and niece Lilia Nacef. While President Ben Ali's family is

known to have active business interests, Tunisians complain

most bitterly about the Trabelsi family's extended reach in

commercial circles. Additionally, elite Tunisians complain

that the Trabelsis are a largely uneducated lot that exploit

the country for their own benefit, while engaging in

conspicuous consumption that the Tunisian elite has

traditionally avoided. The disgust over the Trabelsis public

activities only contributes to rumors about their alleged

activities, and most major commercial decisions are believed

to be influenced by the Trabelsis. For example, when Dubai

Holdings recently won a major contract for a southern Tunis

waterfront development, rumors about Trabelsi ties to Dubai

Holdings immediately began to circulate.



9. (C/NF) Brother Belhassen Trabelsi is considered to be the

most notorious, corrupt and prominent of Leila's family

members. In fact, he represents the epitome of what

Tunisians hate about the Trabelsis. If only half the rumors

about him are true, one would wonder where he found the time

to be such a heartless, voracious monster. In any case, that

is certainly how he is depicted by Tunisians discussing

corruption. DCM's neighbor, a retired Tunisian ambassador,

identified three palatial dwellings within 300 meters of DCM

residence in Carthage that she claims were taken from their

owners by Trabelsi (who reportedly just tells people he is

buying their property and for how much). All three are

undergoing major renovations that include significant

expansion of the building's footprint, generally forbidden by

the Carthage historic area's strict zoning regulations.

Every sighting of a Porsche Cayenne, Bentley, or Hummer

zooming down the road or running a red light becomes a

Belhassen sighting (even though others are also known to own

these rare-in-Tunisia vehicles). There are even stories of

Belhassen entering restaurants and overtly laying a pistol on

the table-- in gun-free Tunisia.



10. (C/NF) Trabelis' publicly known investments include:

Karthago Airlines; Karthago Travel Services; Karthago Hotel;

Aviation Training Center of Tunisia; Global Telecom

Networking; Alpha Ford International (created following the

privatization of Autotractor); Compagnie Mediterraneenne

D'Etudes et de Realisations Touristiques (COMMERT); Societe

de Promotion Touristique et de Plaisance; Societe

D'Investissement dans les Loisors et Tourism (SILT - SICAF);

Alpha Bus Tunisie; Societe d'Etudes des Realisations

Touristiques; Societe de Promotion Hoteliere Khamsa; Societe



des Services Nationaux et des Residences (SNR); Societe

Gammarth Immobiliere. He is also believed to be unscrupulous

in his business dealings and to be willing to utilize

bribery, extortion and otherwise manipulate the market to his

advantage. For example, it is reported that the local

Citroen dealership attracted Trabelsi's attention. Unwilling

to grant him ownership concessions, Citroen is reportedly

paying Trabelsi directly in order to continue operations.

Despite this, local business contacts report that President

Ben Ali considers Belhassen Trabelsi "a very successful

businessman" and meets often with him. Most recently,

Trabelsi is in talks with Egypt's commercial giant Orascom

about expanding Karthago into Egypt as a joint venture.



11. (C/NF) Other Leila siblings are Imed (controlling Societe

Univers Carriers) and Moncef (owner of SOTRAMA - Societe

Trabelsi de Marbre Artificiel). There is also a favored

niece, Lilia Nacef, married to Mourad Mahdoui, and together

they run Societe l'Opera de Culture, Sport et Loisirs, which

has an 80-year lease on four hectares in Belvedere Park to

develop an amusement park and they also run Bien Vu, an

advertising company. Other lesser known Trabelsis include

Bdiri, Jelila, Adel, and Mourad, and their companies include:

Societe de Promotion Immobiliere Dar Mabrouka; Societe de

Promotion Immobiliere Dar Essaada; Societe de Mise en Valeur

et de Developpment Agricole El Kaouther; 3E Services (Societe

d'Exploitation des Eraux et de l'Environment Services);

Societe Agricole Essania; and Societe Tunisienne d'Emballage

de Jus.



III. Sons-in-Law:

--------------



12. (C/NF) Slim Zarrouk: Slim, husband of Ben Ali daughter

Ghaouna, created his first business, Plastec, in 1982 to

manufacture plastic products. He later acquired state-owned

La Ceramique in one of Tunisia,s first privatizations. La

Ceramique,s assets include significant holdings and two

board seats at SOTETEL, which produces telecommunications

equipment and was spun off from Tunisie Telecom (the national

telecommunications monopoly). In September 2003, Plastec

launched a major venture with Plastiques de Val du Loire

(PVL) to build a factory in Sousse, producing plastic

automobile, telephone, and household component equipment.

This new company is called Tunisie Plastiques Systemes (TPS).

Zarrouk,s other holdings include: Mediterranean Air

Service, MEDINVEST, MEDSOFT, Nortene Tunisie, and SMVDA

Domaine Neferis.



13. (C/NF) Slim Chiboub: This Slim is married to Ben Ali,s

second daughter, Dorsaf. Chiboub is also the nephew of

well-known businessman, Taoufik Chaibi, whose interests

include advertising, sports franchises, retail distribution,

and trading. Chiboub is known for using shell companies,

particularly through the Mzabi family (see para 16) to

promote his business interests. Until recently, Chiboub was

the head of a major sports club (and current Tunisian soccer

league champion),Esperance, but was reportedly relieved of

that position by President for unknown reasons.



14. (C/NF) Marouene Mabrouk: Marouene is married to Ben

Ali,s youngest daughter, Cyrine. The Mabrouk family is a

prominent Tunisian business family with business successes

that predate Marouene,s marriage into the Ben Ali family.

The Mabrouks hold shares in Banque de Tunisie and own major

confectionery companies, including Societe Tunisienne de

Chocolaterie and SOTUBI (biscuits). Marouene and Cyrine

established Planet Tunisie, the country's first private

Internet service provider. Marouene,s additional interests

include: Medis (Monoprix and Touta grocery chains); a major

shopping complex; Mercedes-Fiat dealership; Industries

Alimentaires de Tunisie; and Investment et Developpment

Mecanique. The greater Mabrouk family also has significant

holdings in oil services, the Compagnie de Promotion

Immobliere et Touristique, Compagnie des Golfs Internationaux

de Tunisie, Mediterraneene de Distribution et de Commerce,

Maghreb Invest, and Essanabel SMVDA.



IV. Extended "Family" Members

--------------



15. (C/NF) Hedi Djilani: Hedi Djilani, the current president

of the Tunisian Employers Association for Commerce, Industry,

and Handicrafts (UTICA, the national employers,

association),is one of the few Tunisians related (by



marriage) to both sides of the President's family. Djilani's

elder daughter is married to Belhassen Trabelsi; his younger

daughter is married to one of the President's nephews,

Sofiane Ben Ali. Djilani acquired his wealth initially by

inheritance, but has since acquired business interests

including Lee Cooper, Financiere Tunisienne, TISSBEL, Les

Pages Jaunes, Immobiliere Echarifa, Hygiene and Sante, MAT

SA, Manufacture Tunisienne d'Exploitation Industrielle,

Societe Connexion Trust, and Hannibal Lease. Djilani,s

brother, Lamine, is Assistant General Manager for the Middle

East and North Africa at Arab Banking Corporation, New York.





16. (C/NF) The Mzabi Family: This family has been associated

with Slim Chibboub and its family members include Sadok,

Mzoughi, Hedi, Fathi, and Najib. Their holdings are

numerous, including: Renault; SODEXHO (catering company);

Minoterie de la Soukra; Tanneries Megisseries du Maghreb;

Tannerie de la Mornaguia; Manufacture Tunisienne de

Chaussures; Societe Immobliere du Maghreb; Meghreb Motors;

Atlas Motors; Atlas Pompes; Ateliers Mecaniques Maghrebines;

Dalmas; COTTAM; Compagnie Tunisienne des Fournitures; Maghreb

Commercial; Royal Garden Palace; Palm Azur; Carthago Oil

Company of Tunisia; Land Rover; Societe d,Etude et

d,Exploitation Tourisitque; INFOCOM; Societe Arab Technic

Water; Societe Alliance Immobiliere; ARTES; AUTRONIC; Societe

Touristique Gibraltar; SOMET; and Sabrine (mineral water

company).



17. (C/NF) COMMENT: While the facts and rumors of the

Family's commercial holdings are extensive, few Tunisians can

offer any evidence of President Ben Ali's personal

corruption. In fact, public opinion is often more

sympathetic to the President than to the seemingly

ever-growing extended clan of brothers- and sons-in-law. A

popular joke tells of President Ben Ali being stopped by a

traffic cop when out for a drive by himself. Ben Ali

explains he is the President, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, but

the cop says "Never heard of you," and takes Ben Ali to the

police station. The station chief looks at Ben Ali's

identification card and says, "It's okay. He's related to the

Trabelsis." The joke outlines what most Tunisians feel

today: compared to the strength and depth of the Trabelsi

family's grip on Tunisia, Ben Ali is inconsequential. While

this may be pure speculation or wishful thinking, the fact

remains that the alleged corruption of Ben Ali's family is

increasingly becoming a political and economic force that

must be addressed. END COMMENT.

HUDSON