1. Ziad Takieddine is a Lebanese-French businessman, described by The Telegraph as an "arms broker".
11 Facts About Ziad Takieddine
1. 2.
Ziad Takieddine was born on 14 June 1950 in Baakline, Lebanon into a Druze family.
3.
Ziad Takieddine's uncle Saiid Takieddine was Lebanese Ambassador in London, and his father was Ambassador in various countries.
4.
Ziad Takieddine was educated at the American University in Beirut and the University of Reading in England.
5.
Ziad Takieddine later facilitated arms dealing between France and Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria and Libya.
6.
Ziad Takieddine was condemned to a five-year prison sentence by the French Court of Justice of the Republic in June 2020 for using some of those funds to finance the unsuccessful presidential campaign of former French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur in the context of the Karachi affair.
7.
Ziad Takieddine facilitated the release of Bulgarian nurses from Libya and organized Libya President Muammar Gaddafi's 2007 visit to France.
8.
Ziad Takieddine has since accused former French President Nicolas Sarkozy of taking 50 million euros from Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi from 2006 to 2007 to finance his presidential campaign, a claim echoed by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.
9.
Ziad Takieddine has accused him of tax evasion in France.
10.
In 2013 Ziad Takieddine was denied entry to the United Kingdom following an "allegation of fraud" and was forced by British police to return to France.
11.
Ziad Takieddine is the first cousin, once removed of lawyer and activist Amal Clooney, as the first cousin of Clooney's father.