No more Abacha loot in our banks- Swiss govt tells Nigeria

The Swiss government disclosed yesterday it had returned to the Nigerian government about $700m looted by and traced to the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

The 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.

He however reaffirmed that 'the entire $700 million blocked in Swiss bank accounts have been returned to Nigeria and the case has been closed,'

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.