Dictator's millions returned

2003-12-18 09:54

Geneva - A Swiss public prosecutor on Wednesday ordered the return to Nigeria of $87m, belonging to late dictator Sani Abacha, which have been frozen by the Swiss authorities since 1999.

In total more than $600m of Abacha's money has been frozen in Switzerland.

"It is the first time any of the money has been returned to Nigeria," Daniel Zappelli said.

A British banker working as an intermediary was also fined 400 000 Swiss francs for "supporting Abacha's criminal organisation and laundering money", the public prosecutor said.

In October, Nigeria asked for judicial co-operation with Switzerland as part of an ongoing probe into an alleged multibillion-dollar embezzlement by the late military dictator.

Nigerian authorities and the Abacha family reached an out-of-court settlement with Switzerland among others in April 2002 on the restitution of more than $1bn embezzled by the Abacha clan.

But the deal was thrown into doubt in September when the Abacha family refused to hand over the necessary signed documents.

Abacha, who died in 1998, is suspected of having looted the Nigerian treasury to the tune of about $2.2bn when he ruled Africa's most populous nation from November 1993 to June 1998.

- AFP