The Swiss government has announced that assets held in Swiss bank accounts by the former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier will remain frozen for an additional year.
In an announcement after a meeting of the seven-member Swiss cabinet in Bern on Wednesday, government spokesman Oswald Sigg confirmed that the federal government "has decided to extend the freeze by 12 months." In June, the Swiss government had extended the temporary freeze on the CFH7.6 million contained in the accounts (US$6.3 million) by three months, which was due to expire on September 1.
Duvalier and his followers have been accused by Haiti's new government of siphoning off state funds during his reign, but the money in question has been caught up in legal wrangling ever since the Duvalier regime was ousted in 1986. Duvalier now resides in exile in France.
The original request for the freeze was lodged on behalf of two Haitian individuals, a priest and a taxi driver, who were persecuted under the Duvalier regime. The plaintiffs are trying to have a 1988 US court ruling, which ordered the Duvaliers to pay them US$1.75 million in damages, recognised in Switzerland. They also want the money in the Swiss accounts returned the the Haitian people and not to Duvalier.
According to the Associated Press, Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Philippe Jeannerat said that the extension followed assurances by Haiti that proceedings against Duvalier would be launched "in the near future", which is a necessary step for Switzerland to confiscate the funds.
Marc Henzelin, lawyer for the plaintiffs, has said that most of the money is held in one account with the Geneva branch of UBS, in the name of the "Brouilly Foundation" in Liechtenstein. The Brouilly Foundation is owned by a Panama-based company, which in turn is owned by members of the Duvalier family.
It is believed that another account is held by Duvalier in the Swiss city of Lausanne, but a lack of information has prevented Henzelin from mounting a legal challenge there.
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