Switzerland To Release More Frozen Abacha Assets To Nigeria

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

21 February 2005

Switzerland's Federal Tribunal last Wednesday ruled that some EUR352 million ($458 million) should be returned to the Nigerian government, having been frozen in 1999, following the death a year earlier of the country's former dictator, General Sani Abacha.

Abacha stands posthumously accused of plundering around $2.2 billion from the Nigerian Central Bank between 1993 and 1998.

Despite the freezing by Switzerland and other countries of assets suspected to be connected to the Abacha family, the Nigerian authorities believe that there are still more looted assets to be discovered.

Although the Federal Tribunal last week accepted part of an appeal by the Abacha family, regarding an additional $40 million in frozen assets, it announced that proof would need to be provided that the money had not been obtained illegally before it could be released to them.

In addition to the proceedings currently underway in Switzerland, the Nigerian authorities are also pursuing the return of government assets in several other offshore and onshore finance centres.

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