Switzerland will return to Nigeria, about $380 million (360
million euros) linked to ex- military dictator Gen. Sani Abacha,
Geneva’s public prosecutor said yesterday.
The release of this cash may bring to an end the 16-year case
on the funds.
Gen. Abacha died in office in 1998 after a five-year iron-fist
rule. He was seen as extremely corrupt and faced criticism
over his human rights abuses.
The decision to return the funds followed a July 2014 deal
between Nigeria and the Abacha family.
Under the agreement, the funds would be confiscated and
returned to Nigeria, while Abuja would drop its case against
the deceased dictator’s son, Abba Abacha.
The $380 million had been placed in several accounts abroad
that were controlled by the Abacha family, which is considered
a criminal organisation, the Geneva prosecutors’ office said in
a statement.
The money was seized in 2006 in Luxembourg, under orders
from the Swiss authorities.
The Abacha family had also placed some $500 million (530
million euros) in Swiss banks, though those funds have
already been returned to Nigeria.
The $380 million will be returned under the World Bank’s
supervision, said the prosecutor’s office.
The authorities have also decided to drop their case against
Abba Abacha, which began in 1999.
In 2012, the dictator’s son was handed a one-year suspended
prison sentence for participating in a criminal organisation.
Switzerland’s top court cancelled the sentence in May 2014,
citing procedural reasons.
The Geneva prosecutor’s office on Tuesday said Abba Abacha
has already been detained for 561 days from 2004 to 2006,
without receiving compensation.
The cash issue began in 1999, when Nigeria asked the Swiss
judicial authorities to help it recover $2.2 billion ($2 billion
euros) embezzled and siphoned off by Gen. Abacha while he
was in power.