The interim government of Tunisia has taken over the 51% stake in mobile operator Orange Tunisie held by the son-in law of ousted president Zine el-abidine Ben Ali, according to Les Echos.
The move was expected since earlier this month, the council of…
The interim government of Tunisia has taken over the 51% stake in mobile operator Orange Tunisie held by the son-in law of ousted president Zine el-abidine Ben Ali, according to Les Echos.
The move was expected since earlier this month, the council of ministers approved an order allowing the seizure of assets owned by former leaders, their partners and relatives. Marwan Mabrouk, which held the stake in Orange Tunisie through a vehicle called Invest, was among the 110 people whose assets had been frozen.
A spokesperson told TelecomFinance last week that the order of council only concerned the stake of Marwan Mabrouk and not France Telecom’s 49% stake.
Orange and Mabrouk’s companies, Vsat and WiMax provider Divona, together bought a combined fixed and mobile licence in June 2009 for E137.6m. Orange Tunisie launched commercially in May 2010.
An inquiry commission has been set up to decide within six months what to do with confiscated assets.
