Assets belonging to the deceased dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, are to be released from Swiss banks and returned to his heirs.
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In a ruling published on Tuesday, the Federal Criminal Court rejected a citizen’s appeal by Basel University criminologist Mark Pieth to keep a freeze on funds worth SFr7.7 million ($6.68 million).
Pieth opposed returning the funds to Mobutu’s heirs, who he alleged were suspected of criminal activities in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Switzerland blocked assets deposited by the late ruler and his family in 1997 following a request from the country’s government.
In 2008 Swiss authorities agreed to keep the assets frozen so that a Congolese government lawyer could initiate proceedings in Switzerland to block the assets and for the competent legal authority to decide how to deal with the case.
However in April 2009 the Swiss Prosecutor’s Office declared Mobutu’s heirs should receive the money since the statute of limitations had run out in the case.
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Lawyer warns against returning Mobutu assets
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Mark Pieth, a professor of criminology at Basel University, has lodged a “citizen’s appeal” with the Federal Criminal Court and written to the Swiss government to try to extend a freezing order on Mobutu’s assets, worth SFr7.7 million ($6.68 million). The assets have been frozen in Swiss bank accounts since 1997 and are due to…
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The Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund is working with local partners in villages in eastern and central Congo to which displaced people are returning as peace is gradually restored. Fighting is still continuing in some parts of the country, but even where it is now calm, life is far from easy. “The war has left behind…
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That is when the account holding SFr8 million or so ($6.9 million) deposited in Swiss banks by the late president of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, is due to be unfrozen. But it is not in fact clear what will happen. Despite its reputation for turning a blind eye to the source of deposits, Switzerland’s recent…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.