Switzerland has started proceedings to return assets of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, frozen since 1986, to the Haitian government.
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If the move is successful, Switzerland will return the forfeited assets amounting to more than SFr5.8 million ($6.7 million) to one of the world’s poorest states, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The Swiss government instructed the ministry to start the legal process in the Federal Administrative Court in February after a new law, the so-called “Duvalier law”, came into force.
The legislation was designed to open the way for the return of the funds, frozen in Swiss bank accounts during years of legal argument and efforts by Duvalier to reclaim them.
In January, Duvalier unexpectedly returned to Haiti after 25 years of exile in France, saying he wanted to help his compatriots rebuild after the huge earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people a year before.
He is under investigation on charges of corruption and crimes against humanity for killings and torture during his 15-year rule.
Duvalier is alleged to have embezzled between $300 million and $800 million of assets from Haiti during his presidency.
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Baby Doc family to challenge blocked funds
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The Federal Administrative Court said on Wednesday that Duvalier’s family would continue to pursue some of the blocked funds, which amount to at least $4.6 million (SFr4.9 million). A court spokesman said it was unclear when it would rule on the appeal, but the decision could subsequently be challenged in Switzerland’s top court. The government…
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The family of Jean-Claude Duvalier – nicknamed Baby Doc – appealed on Tuesday against the decision taken two weeks ago by the Federal Penal Court to unfreeze deposits worth SFr7,000,000 ($6.6 million) and give them to the authorities in Haiti. The case will now be heard by the Federal Court in Lausanne. The family argues…
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The law comes into force on February 1, and although applicable to assets stashed away by all autocrats, it was tailor-made to deal with the ongoing freeze of assets deposited in Switzerland by former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. After it was announced in September, Mark Vlasic, the international legal advisor to a team acting to…
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The Federal Justice Office announced on Thursday that the exiled Duvalier and his entourage could not prove how they had obtained the funds, totalling about SFr7 million ($6 million). “The Duvalier clan acted in the same way as a criminal organisation,” the Justice Office said. “The statements submitted by the account holders failed to provide…
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swissinfo’s Thomas Kern travelled to Haiti and took these photographs of people in the Fort National neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince – a poor, densely populated maze of narrow streets and one-room shelters. It was among the hardest hit areas. Many residents moved to the makeshift campsite in Champs de Mars and have been unable to return.
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.