Switzerland has moved to confiscate frozen assets linked to former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.
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The cabinet asked Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf to begin proceedings to seize around SFr6 million ($6.2 million) that has been frozen in Swiss bank accounts since 1986, with a view to returning the funds to the Haitian people.
It follows the entry into force on February 1 of a new Swiss law on returning illicit dictator assets. The law was tailor-made to move the Duvalier assets case forward.
Under the law, the cabinet can block contentious assets and will have up to ten years to launch action to confiscate the assets once they have been blocked. The confiscation of assets must be ordered by the Federal Administrative Court.
“The Swiss government, which has worked to find a solution for the restitution of the Duvalier money to the Haitian people, has used the powers conferred by the restitution law to take this case to court,” the government said in a statement.
If the Duvalier family wants the funds released they will have to prove to the Federal Administrative Court that the funds were obtained legally.
In an interview with the Spanish-language television channel Univision on Tuesday, Duvalier said the frozen funds belonged to a foundation and if released, “most” would be used to rebuild the town where his mother was born.
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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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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.
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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.