Court blocks return of pilfered Haiti funds
Switzerland’s Federal Court has refused to return some SFr4.6 million (SFr4.9 million) in embezzled funds to Haiti.
The court turned down a bid from the Federal Justice Office to have the money returned to benefit the country’s population.
The decision, made on January 12 – the day before the earthquake struck – was announced on Wednesday.
The family of former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier had appealed against a federal penal court decision to unfreeze the assets and give them to authorities in Haiti.
Duvalier assets held in Switzerland have been frozen since Duvalier’s overthrow in 1986. No legal proceedings have been launched against the Duvalier family in Haiti.
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