The Paris Court of Appeals on Thursday confirmed the conviction of an exiled uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who last year was found guilty of money laundering and aggravated tax fraud.
French judges in June 2020 convicted Rifaat al-Assad, 84, of embezzling Syrian public funds to expand his vast property portfolio in France, where he now lives. Assad was sentenced to four years in prison, which Agence France-Presse reports he may not have to serve given his advanced age.