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Switzerland Govt Promised To Return Abacha Money On Conditions (321m Dollars) by murshid09(m): 7:45pm On Mar 09, 2016 |
Switzerland gives Nigeria conditions to repatriate $321m
Abacha loot:
Switzerland has given conditions for repatriating $321m
looted by a former military ruler, the late Gen. Sani Abacha,
to Nigeria.
Part of the conditions is that the fund would be used for
projects that would benefit Nigerians and they (the projects)
must be monitored by the World Bank.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama, said the
government was working on the modalities for the
repatriation.
Speaking shortly after holding a meeting with the Swiss
Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter on Tuesday in Abuja,
Onyeama explained that Nigeria had signed an agreement
with the Swiss government in the area of human rights and
immigration.
He said, “It is $321mn that we are looking at repatriating to
Nigeria and the modalities are basically legal framework for
that; mutual legal assistance framework that we are trying
to put in place and there are pre-conditions that are also in
place already and these require monitoring mechanism.
“So, we have to agree beforehand as a pre-condition on
what the money would be used for and the World Bank
would be part of the monitoring process to ensure that the
money is used for the benefit of Nigerian people.”
The Minister stated that Burkhalter’s visit was significant as
it marked the commencement of the fund repatriation
process, noting that other looted funds might be uncovered
in hidden accounts in Swiss banks.
Burkhalter said his country and Nigeria had a very
constructive relation, adding that Switzerland planned to
open a consulate in Lagos that would boost economic
relations between the two countries.
He promised that his country would repatriate the $321mn
to Nigeria, pledging Switzerland’s continued assistance to
Internally Displaced Persons in the country.
Burkhalter added, “We would continue to help in the
humanitarian assistance in the North, for those who are
suffering and we would try to write another chapter of the
history of illicit asset recovery and restitutions from
Switzerland to Nigeria.
“There is a history we had already; 10 years ago, we did
restitution of the Abacha fund for $700m and now, there is
a possibility and already there is a decision in principle to
restitute another $321m and for the Swiss government, it is
very important to act swiftly, to act in a transparent way and
act for the good of the population of Nigeria.
“The decision of the prosecutor of Geneva set a condition
and this condition is monitoring mechanism by the World
Bank; if we sign a treaty, very swift and the possibility to
support social projects in Nigeria, with the monitoring of the
World Bank, the money would be restituted.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Tuesday signed an
agreement called ‘‘Letter of Intent’’ with the Swiss
government to facilitate the repatriation of the $321m.
This was contained in a statement by the Senior Special
Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr.
Laolu Akande.
He said the agreement was signed during a meeting Vice-
President Yemi Osinbajo had with a Swiss delegation, led by
Burkhalter and the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Eric
Mayoruz, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He added that the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr.
Abubakar Malami (SAN), signed the agreement on behalf of
the Federal Government while Burkhalter signed on behalf
of the Swiss government.
He explained that the agreement was on the restitution of
illegally-acquired assets initially forfeited to Switzerland.
“Under the agreement, the Swiss government will award to
Nigeria $321m of funds illicitly acquired by the Abacha
family, initially deposited in Luxembourg and confiscated by
the Judiciary of the Republic and Canton of Geneva,
pursuant to a Forfeiture Order dated December 11, 2014,”
the statement read.
While welcoming the offer to return the stolen fund,
Osinbajo said the Federal Government was developing a
framework that would aid the repatriation of such stolen
assets.
He added that the framework would also ensure that the
recovered funds were not re-looted.
“We guarantee that recovered assets would be put to uses
for which they had been intended,” he said.
The Vice-President said the framework, once finalised,
would be made public.
He said the document would cover the whole spectrum from
the source of the stolen asset to how it would be managed
once recovered.
“The framework will guarantee that returned assets will be
used in the interest of the people of this country,” he added.
Commending the Swiss government on its assistance in
repatriating the country’s stolen assets, the Vice-President
said the Federal Government appreciated the Swiss
government for its laudable efforts.
He noted that the “Swiss has always been at the forefront of
returning stolen assets and ensuring that the people of
Nigeria get the benefits.” |
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