Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel,
yesterday said all the $700 million in Swiss bank accounts belonging to
the late head of state General Sani Abacha have been returned to
Nigeria.
Hodel said this at a news conference in Abuja. He added that Swiss
and Nigerian governments have agreed to request the World Bank to
participate in the review of the use of the funds on welfare projects.
"Regarding Sani Abacha, Switzerland has restituted and returned $700 million of illicit assets to Nigeria," he said.
The ambassador said in addition to the return of the funds,
Switzerland also funded a project of an NGO network which monitored the
use of the recovered monies in the various development projects.
On the case against the late Abacha's son Abba, Hodel said
proceedings over support of a criminal organisation were still pending
in Geneva.
He added: "There are special procedures to deal with foreign clients
who are PEPs (politically-exposed persons). Swiss banks must put clients
into different risk categories. They might decide not to start business
relationship with a PEP because of the reputation risk involved. Swiss
banks are obliged by law to report well-founded suspicions of criminal
activity and simultaneously freeze the assets in question."
When asked on a recent report on Swiss traders involved in opaque
$6.8 billion oil deals in Nigeria, the envoy said they have not received
any formal request regarding that.
"I have no knowledge that we have been contacted by the authorities.
In case they will start proceedings and they will need our help, of
course with international legal cooperation we will help them if they
approach us. But until now, they have not approached us," he said.
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