(Ecofin Agency) - The French courts have seized several properties belonging to the clan of President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the affair known as ill-gotten gains, reports AFP, citing a source close to the case.

The judges in charge of the investigation ordered the seizure of three immovable properties in the Paris region: two at Courbevoie and the villa Suzette, a luxurious residence of nearly 500 square metres located in Vézinet. According to investigators the veritable owner of these three immovable properties is the nephew of the President, Wilfrid Nguesso, who is hiding behind front companies.

Launched in 2010 by French magistrates following a complaint coming from a NGO, the investigation on the ill-gotten gains concerns the conditions in which three African Heads of State (Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, Teodoro Obiang and the deceased Gabonese President Omar Bongo) acquired significant immovable and movable assets in France. The French courts had already seized some fifteen luxury vehicles in February at Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, from members of Denis Sassou Nguesso's family.

Concerning Villa Suzette, substantial work totalling close to 3 to 4 million euros had been undertaken between 2002 and 2005. "Part of it was financed by companies whose beneficiary is Wilfrid Nguesso", underlined a judicial source.

Denis Sassou Nguesso, has ruled the Republic of Congo for more than 30 years. Last September, the Head of State who is 72 years old, announced that he would organise a referendum on a revision of the constitution with a view to running for a third term during the presidential election in 2016.