Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s uncle, suspected of using ill-gotten gains to build a property empire in France, has been charged with corruption, French officials say.

Rifaat al-Assad, 78, who commanded Syria’s internal security forces in the 1970s and early 1980s, was charged on June 9 with receiving embezzled funds and tax fraud, a spokesman for the financial prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.

A French judge ordered Rifaat al-Assad be prohibited from leaving France, with an exception for receiving medical care in the UK, according to one of the two non-governmental organisations, Sherpa, which filed complaints in 2013 and 2014 that led to the investigation.

Sherpa claims Rifaat’s fortune was stolen during his time at the heart of the Syrian regime.

In the probe, headed by Renaud van Ruymbeke, investigators estimated that Rifaat and his family amassed about $100m worth of property in France, mainly through companies registered in Luxembourg, between 1984 and 1988.

The Assad family claims the fortune was the result of gifts from wealthy Saudi supporters, including former King Abdullah, with whom he shared a love of horse-racing.

Van Ruymbeke has said that Rifaat has provided proof only of a $10m gift from Abdullah in 1984, the source told AFP

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s uncle, suspected of using ill-gotten gains to build a property empire in France, has been charged with corruption, French officials say.

Rifaat al-Assad, 78, who commanded Syria’s internal security forces in the 1970s and early 1980s, was charged on June 9 with receiving embezzled funds and tax fraud, a spokesman for the financial prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.

A French judge ordered Rifaat al-Assad be prohibited from leaving France, with an exception for receiving medical care in the UK, according to one of the two non-governmental organisations, Sherpa, which filed complaints in 2013 and 2014 that led to the investigation.

Sherpa claims Rifaat’s fortune was stolen during his time at the heart of the Syrian regime.

In the probe, headed by Renaud van Ruymbeke, investigators estimated that Rifaat and his family amassed about $100m worth of property in France, mainly through companies registered in Luxembourg, between 1984 and 1988.

The Assad family claims the fortune was the result of gifts from wealthy Saudi supporters, including former King Abdullah, with whom he shared a love of horse-racing.

Van Ruymbeke has said that Rifaat has provided proof only of a $10m gift from Abdullah in 1984, the source told AFP