French police probing Bashar al-Assad uncle's wealth The bloody attack, in which entire districts were said to be razed to the ground, earned him the nickname of "the Butcher of Hama." The criminal complaint accuses Mr al-Assad of acquiring wealth "in the billions of euros" through corruption, embezzlement of public funds, misuse of corporate assets and other crimes. Mr al-Assad has vehemently denied acquiring assets in France through illegal means. "Were there even the slightest doubt over my client's real estate ... would President Francois Mitterrand have awarded him the Legion d'Honneur (France's highest distinction) in 1986?," his lawyer Marcel Ceccaldi said last Friday. He told Reuters that his client's real estate holdings dated back to 1984-1986 and were transparent and legal. The son of Rifaat al-Assad, Siwar al-Assad, told France Info radio his father had received funds since 1984 from "states, leaders and friends abroad." That included a gift from the king of Saudi Arabia of a 45 hectare (111 acre) property and stud farm north of Paris, he said. French media have reported that his holdings include a mansion and several dozen apartments in Paris, with newspaper Le Monde estimating the total value of his estate in France at 160 million euros. Earlier this year, Mr Rifaat sought to sell an entire building at 38 Avenue Foch - one of the most prized properties in the French capital. The sale was reportedly cancelled at the last minute as the 70 million euro (£60 million) offer was deemed insufficient. There have been repeated reports that he is seeking to sell up in France due to concerns the French government is trying to clean-up its image as a safe investment haven for dictators and their families. Last year, two Right-wing local councilors wrote to then French president Nicolas Sarkozy to ask him to freeze all the Assad family assets in France. "We don't want our district to become a refuge for dictators of all kinds," they wrote. Since the Syrian uprising, the European Union and the US have imposed asset freezes on around 150 individuals deemed "responsible for the violent repression of the civilian population in Syria." The opposition Syrian National Council has called for Rifaat al-Assad to be subjected to international sanctions like current senior officials in the Syrian government because of his past crimes. But to date he has not been targeted. He has previously called on Bashar al-Assad to step down.