The detection and subsequent repatriation of the Abacha loot from Swiss banks has forced the Swiss government to adopt pragmatic measures that have made the country‘s financial sector more transparent.
Mr. Nicolas Lang, Swiss Ambassador covering Ghana, Benin and Togo disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday at the ongoing Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, Ghana.
Lang said that the processes that led to returning the money to the Nigerian government had gradually become a model for the world to rate and see Swiss banks as some of the most transparent and credible financial institutions globally.
“The Swiss government put in a lot of efforts including contesting against fierce litigation from the Abacha family to restitute the fund.
“Missing state monies ending up in our banks is detrimental to our image and Swiss financial sector reputation.”
He said that mechanism had been put in place to enable the government and operators in the country‘s financial sector to detect stolen monies from developing countries.
He observed that it was very difficult to monitor the entrance of such funds but assured that “any fund discovered will be immediately repatriated.”
The ambassador also said that the country was able to return recently stolen funds by a former Malian President.
“The Swiss government even went further to offset the legal fees that made it possible for the funds to be repatriated to Mali,” he said.
In the case of Nigeria, Lang revealed that all funds traced to Abacha in Swiss banks were completely repatriated under a Swiss government, World Bank and Nigerian government arrangement.
“The arrangement was that the three groups will ensure effective monitoring and utilisation of the funds as well as make sure it was put to good use,” Lang said.
No comments:
Post a Comment