After the government was disempowered, Tunisian President Kais Saïed wants to take action against corruption in the country in his own words.
At a meeting with the UTICA union on Wednesday, Saïed indicated that crackdowns on corruption cases were imminent but said there was "no intention of harming or abusing business people".
“Wrong economic decisions” would have led to major financial problems.
460 people stole 13.5 billion dinars (around 4.1 billion euros) from Tunisia.
Saïed, a former law professor who took office in 2019 with a campaign against corruption, said he was offering a "criminal settlement" if they would return the money "instead of being prosecuted and imprisoned.
On Wednesday, he deposed the head of state television, Mohammed al-Dahach, and appointed an interim director, the president's office announced.
Saïed surprisingly ousted Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Sunday and imposed a night curfew.
While Saïed emphasized that his actions were in accordance with the constitution, the Islamist Ennahdha accused him of a "coup".
The president had made common cause “with undemocratic forces” in order to “undermine the constitutional rights of elected officials”.
Since Sunday, the president has been dismissing numerous government advisors and government officials, dismissing the armed forces public prosecutor and the ministers of defense and justice.
The former law lecturer had previously taken over the judiciary.
This was preceded by protests against the government's corona crisis management in several cities.
Saïed argues that he wants to break the political blockade in the country and appoint a new head of government within 30 days.
His actions are in accordance with the constitution.