Europeans Freeze Assets Linked to Deposed Tunisian President; What About US?

Last Friday, popular protests over unemployment and corruption forced
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to resign after 23 years in
power. A Tunisian prosecutor has opened an investigation into the
overseas assets of Ben Ali and his family, much of which are widely
believed to be the fruit of corruption, and some of which the Tunisian
government may try to recover. France, Switzerland, and Germany have
all announced the freezing of assets linked to the Ben Ali clan; the
European Union is considering doing so.

But the U.S. has made no such announcement, and the issue of U.S.
support for Tunisian efforts to track and possibly recover these
assets hasn't, to my knowledge - and I've been searching for it, and
asking reporters and others about it - even been mentioned in the
press. Shouldn't the US also move
to freeze any assets in the U.S. linked to the Ben Ali clan, and
indicate its full support for Tunisian efforts to recover stolen
assets?

On Wednesday, the Tunisian prosecutor's office moved
to investigate overseas bank accounts, real estate and other
assets held by Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi and other relatives,
while Switzerland
froze assets linked to Ben Ali and 40 people in his entourage. On
Saturday, France
announced that it was blocking "suspicious financial movements
concerning Tunisian assets." Germany
has also announced moves to freeze the assets of Ben Ali's family.

But there has been no move reported by the U.S. to freeze assets
linked to the Ben Ali clan in the U.S., nor any move reported to
support the investigation of assets linked to the Ben Ali clan.
Indeed, there has been no mention of the role of the U.S. in the
press.

This is striking, because the U.S. is a key center of the
international financial system. Even if there are not substantial
assets linked to the Ben Ali clan in the U.S., U.S. cooperation in any
investigation would be key.

On Friday - after reports that Ben Ali had fled Tunisia - President
Obama issued a strong statement of support for the protesters. The statement
said, in part: "I applaud the courage and dignity of the Tunisian
people. The United States stands with the entire international
community in bearing witness to this brave and determined struggle for
the universal rights that we must all uphold."

Now President Obama has the opportunity to give meaning to these
words. Urge him to freeze assets in the U.S. linked to the Ben Ali
clan, and to fully support efforts by Tunisia to recover wealth stolen
from the Tunisian people by corrupt officials. You can add your voice
here, where you can also find a picture taken outside the
Tunisian embassy in Washington, with protesters calling on President
Obama to "help freeze the assets of Ben Ali and his family" (h/t Sam
Husseini.)