JOIN USBillionaire businessman Belhassen Trabelsi, who has been accused of amassing wealth by looting the Tunisian people, landed in Montreal after fleeing Tunisia in a private jet. The Tunisian authorities have sought his extradition and requested the Canadian government to hand him over to them, Mouldi Sakri, Tunisia’s ambassador to Canada, said.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said his government was looking at ways to quickly comply with the request by the Tunisian authorities for extraditing the deposed dictator’s brother-in-law. “He is not welcome. We are going to find—in the context, obviously, of current legislation —ways to assure, as quickly as possible, that we might comply with the demand from the Tunisia government,’’ said Cannon.
The minister said Canada was taking steps to freeze Trabelsi’s assets. The Canadian immigration authorities have reportedly already revoked Trabelsi’s permanent residence status in Canada which he acquired in the 1990s.