villous:

efforts to stop the handover to Nigeria of hundreds of millions of dollars tied to the country’s late dictator, Sani Abacha.
The country's highest court threw out an appeal by Abacha's family and associates, who had opposed the return of about $500 million (SFr610.75 million).



They had argued that a new Swiss investigation into Abacha's son, Abba Abacha, could change previous rulings.

Last month, Switzerland sought Abba Abacha's extradition from Germany, where he was arrested in December on a Swiss warrant.

He is accused of money laundering, fraud and breach of trust.



Green light
The decision gives the green light for the return of the money, which represents the bulk of assets tied to Sani Abacha in Switzerland. The Swiss have said that it is mostly of “criminal origin”.

It was not immediately clear when the handover would take place.

The Swiss authorities have been investigating bank accounts linked to Sani Abacha since the Nigerian government accused him of looting up to SFr3 billion from state coffers during his rule from 1993 until his death in June 1998.

The following year, Swiss authorities froze SFr870 million in accounts linked to Abacha and his clan.

The Swiss Federal Banking Commission investigated 19 Swiss banks for accepting Abacha money.



Criticism
In a report in August 2000, it criticised a number of banks for “serious omissions and serious individual failure or misconduct”.

The list included three banks in the Credit Suisse Group, as well as Crédit Agricole Indosuez (Switzerland), UBP Union Bancaire Privée and M.M. Warburg Bank (Switzerland).

To date, the Swiss have returned about $200 million to Nigeria, but the Abacha family and associates had tried to block the release of the rest with an appeal to the Lausanne-based court.

Nigeria's government also recovered $146 million from an unidentified bank in Luxembourg in 2001 after the Abacha family released the money, Nigerian officials have said.

British bank accounts linked to Sani Abacha handled transactions totalling $1.3 billion between 1996 and 2000, British investigators said in 2001.

The British High Court at that time authorized the government to find and seize money allegedly looted from Nigeria during Abacha's rule, but in 2002 Nigeria accused Britain of delaying the retrieval of the funds.

Money was also reportedly discovered in Liechtenstein and Jersey.

swissinfo with agencies

what did the Nigerin do with the £146Million? I bet that money ended into another corrupt's minister's bank account. Wow that £146Million will build lots of hospitals as well as improve the lives of people living in povery but there is no chance of that huge amount of money helping the poor, It's going to help the corrupt get richer.

mjbaba:



thats a lie!!! 561 days where? I attended his sister's wedding last August in Kano and he was there!!

you are right, he was @ his sisters's wedding, saw the pictures of the wedding in Ovation Magazine.

villous:

efforts to stop the handover to Nigeria of hundreds of millions of dollars tied to the country’s late dictator, Sani Abacha.
The country's highest court threw out an appeal by Abacha's family and associates, who had opposed the return of about $500 million (SFr610.75 million).



They had argued that a new Swiss investigation into Abacha's son, Abba Abacha, could change previous rulings.

Last month, Switzerland sought Abba Abacha's extradition from Germany, where he was arrested in December on a Swiss warrant.

He is accused of money laundering, fraud and breach of trust.



Green light
The decision gives the green light for the return of the money, which represents the bulk of assets tied to Sani Abacha in Switzerland. The Swiss have said that it is mostly of “criminal origin”.

It was not immediately clear when the handover would take place.

The Swiss authorities have been investigating bank accounts linked to Sani Abacha since the Nigerian government accused him of looting up to SFr3 billion from state coffers during his rule from 1993 until his death in June 1998.

The following year, Swiss authorities froze SFr870 million in accounts linked to Abacha and his clan.

The Swiss Federal Banking Commission investigated 19 Swiss banks for accepting Abacha money.



Criticism
In a report in August 2000, it criticised a number of banks for “serious omissions and serious individual failure or misconduct”.

The list included three banks in the Credit Suisse Group, as well as Crédit Agricole Indosuez (Switzerland), UBP Union Bancaire Privée and M.M. Warburg Bank (Switzerland).

To date, the Swiss have returned about $200 million to Nigeria, but the Abacha family and associates had tried to block the release of the rest with an appeal to the Lausanne-based court.

Nigeria's government also recovered $146 million from an unidentified bank in Luxembourg in 2001 after the Abacha family released the money, Nigerian officials have said.

[b]British bank accounts linked to Sani Abacha handled transactions totalling $1.3 billion between 1996 and 2000, British investigators said in 2001.

[b]The British High Court at that time authorized the government to find and seize money allegedly looted from Nigeria during Abacha's rule, but in 2002 Nigeria accused Britain of delaying the retrieval of the funds.[/b][/b]Money was also reportedly discovered in Liechtenstein and Jersey.

swissinfo with agencies

Trust the Britain not to want to release the money but if the money is returned to the Nigerian Government, its going to end up in the bank account of another corrupt politician but i think it's should remain on British soil.

see as millions of $ dey climb eachother nai'em i dey hear dey think of how i go take chop bread and beans 2day

i suggest the swiss goovernment shld freeze the acct of all nigerian and ban nigerian from opening account in swizz for the next 10years

^^True talk ma guy, no be say u talk.

The best punishment for a heinous crime committed is not DEATH as in the case of the late father,

but in being alive to suffer for it, as in the son.

Abacha here and there, is it bcoz d man is dead? If d swiss govt is turely after justice, let dem reveal Ibb's loot or d guy no get moni 4 swiss.

sickening!!!!!!

aren't nonsense.
abacha today, abacha tomorrow. why are we not hearing news about other past presidents? is it possible that it is only abacha that stole our funds? what about all the returned funds? how has that affected the lives of common men here in nigeria?
i hate this noise abt the abachas when we have bigger criminals parading themselves as gods in nigeria.
look at the report, the nigerian govt must give ago-ahead order for any country to try their citizens on this looting madness. what a shame of a country.

is he not going to jail?

Just 2 years suspended term for well over 2billion under 20 accounts?
The swiss court self na wah o!

so whats d point of the suspended jail term if he is actually free?
is der anything am missing

Like father, like son.