Government of Switzerland said it had returned to the Nigerian government about $700m traced to the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel, stated this in Abuja at a press briefing ahead of a two-day seminar on Anti Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism.
Hodel added that the Swiss government would be ready to reopen the case if Nigeria presents fresh evidence of any money still being held in any Swiss bank.
“Switzerland and Nigeria agreed to request the World Bank to participate in the review of the use of funds, in the framework of a budget control process of various welfare projects,” he said.
The envoy, who maintained that Switzerland had no interest in withholding illicit funds, said his country had returned about $1.7bn to their countries of origin in the last 15 years.
He, however, said his country had yet to receive any request for information on the November 4 Berne Declaration report: Swiss Traders Opaque Deals in Nigeria, which allegedly accused the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation of conniving with some Swiss-based oil firms of fraudulent deals worth $6.8bn.
“I have no knowledge that we have been contacted by the authorities. In case they will start proceedings and they will need our help; of course with international legal cooperation, we will help them if they approach us. But until now, they have not approached us,” he said.
He said however that the report by the Berne-based NGO did not represent the position of the Swiss government.
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