MADRID: A judge in the southern Spanish resort of Marbella has ordered police to bring in Rifaat Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar Assad, for questioning as part of investigations into corruption at the town hall, El Mundo newspaper reported on Thursday. The daily said Rifaat Assad, who has a home in Marbella, was "in charge of a syndicate of luxury property owners at nearby Puerto Banus which could have received preferential treatment from the town hall."In recent weeks, a swathe of officials have been arrested on corruption-related charges following the discovery of a massive corruption network centered on the town hall planning department. El Mundo reported that Assad had failed to appear for a Wednesday morning hearing to answer a complaint against him brought by an alleged arms dealer, Syrian-Argentine national Monzer al-Kassar, who has lived in Marbella for 10 years. Last week, Assad failed to answer a previous summons on the grounds that he was away on holiday.
Judge Francisco Javier de Urquia told police to haul in Assad "given that there have been several unfruitful summonses" already, El Mundo said, quoting documents it had obtained on the investigation.