Swiss authorities convict Abacha’s son, seize $350m assets

Date: 25-11-2009 8:26 am (13 years ago) | Author: Daniel Bosai
[1] 2 3
- at 25-11-2009 08:26 AM (13 years ago)
Online (m)
Swiss authorities yesterday convicted Abba, one of the sons of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha, for graft and ordered $350 million worth of assets to be seized from him.

"The first order of the sentence issued yesterday by the examining magistrate found that Abba Abacha, born November 9, 1968, son of the late General Sani Abacha, was guilty of participation in a criminal organisation," Geneva Canton's justice office said in a statement.

It said the examining magistrate sentenced Abba to a suspended jail term and ordered the confiscation of his assets worth $350 million “which is held by his criminal organisation and seized through international assistance in Luxembourg and the Bahamas.”

Agency reports say the court was not immediately available for comment on the duration of Abba’s suspended jail sentence.

In yesterday's statement, the Swiss authorities also said they had convicted a financial intermediary who is currently domiciled in the Principality of Monaco, for having been part of the “criminal organisation” run by the Abacha clan.

The person, who was not named, has been sentenced to pay an unspecified fine.

“The person has also been ordered to pay the Canton of Geneva 10 million Swiss Francs -- which corresponds to illegal gains obtained from these culpable activities," added the statement.

General Abacha, who died in June 1998, is suspected of having siphoned over $3 billion from Nige-rian between his coming to power in November 1993 and his death four-and-a-half years later.

Some $700 million of his loot, which was stashed in Swiss banks, have since been returned by Switzerland to Nigerian authorities.

The General Abdulsalami Abubakar and later, Olusegun Obasanjo regime had put pressure on the Swiss government in a bid to recover an estimated $3 billion in embezzled state funds sent abroad by Abacha during his four and half-year rule.

Abacha used a circle of family members, close aides and business associates to transfer the loot.

At Nigeria's request, Switzerland froze hundreds of millions of dollars held there, as have Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

Between 1999 and 2007, the Obasanjo government succeeded in recovering about $700 million of the looted money from the Swiss government.

Recently, several leading banks in Switzerland have been criticised by the country's regulators for accepting money from the Abacha family

In a 2002 report, the Swiss Federal Banking Commission said 19 banks had dealings with Abacha and did not report suspicions of money laundering to the Swiss authorities.

Six banks - three branches of Crédit Suisse Plus, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, Union Bancaire Privée and MM Warburg - were singled out for failing to run adequate checks on new accounts, including those opened by General Abacha's two sons.

“The mere fact that significant assets of dubious origin, from people close to former Nigerian President Sani Abacha, were deposited at Swiss banks is highly unsatisfactory and damages the image of Switzerland as a financial centre,” Banking Commission chairman Kurt Hauri said in 2002 after a 10-month investigation.

The commission said that almost a third of the Abacha money deposited with Swiss banks had first been banked in the UK, United States and Austria.


Posted: at 25-11-2009 08:26 AM (13 years ago) | Addicted Hero
- wizdum at 25-11-2009 10:39 AM (13 years ago)
(m)
Nigeria is truly RICH!

Posted: at 25-11-2009 10:39 AM (13 years ago) | Upcoming
Reply
- divineproject at 25-11-2009 11:02 AM (13 years ago)
(f)
Story story.........wey the money?Huh?

Posted: at 25-11-2009 11:02 AM (13 years ago) | Hero
Reply
- yakubuarome at 25-11-2009 11:04 AM (13 years ago)
(m)
too much money 4 naija....
Posted: at 25-11-2009 11:04 AM (13 years ago) | Upcoming
Reply
- divineproject at 25-11-2009 12:30 PM (13 years ago)
(f)
hahahaha...ok you don hear word jor...pele

Posted: at 25-11-2009 12:30 PM (13 years ago) | Hero
Reply
- lizzydollar at 25-11-2009 12:32 PM (13 years ago)
(f)
wow too much money 9ija is toooooooooooooooo rich
Posted: at 25-11-2009 12:32 PM (13 years ago) | Newbie
Reply
- black_samurai at 25-11-2009 12:36 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
Quote from: godfirst1 on 25-11-2009 12:01 PM
EVEN IF THE RECOVER THIS SAID MONEY WHAT WILL DO USE IT FOR IN THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SURFER THE IMPACT OF THE LOOT. STILL THE SAME SET OF PEOPLE WILL EMBEZZLE  IT TO ENRICH THEMSELVES. I BEG MAKE I HEAR WORD JO, NEXT REVELATION


What do you expect? Dem for share am to everybody in Nigeria?

Posted: at 25-11-2009 12:36 PM (13 years ago) | Upcoming
Reply
- methodman at 25-11-2009 12:47 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
what did Obasanjo & co do with the recovered funds??? Huh? Huh?
Posted: at 25-11-2009 12:47 PM (13 years ago) | Upcoming
Reply
- Lammaheart at 25-11-2009 01:04 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
Everybody knows we got d Money Shocked......But d question is dat were does it all end up Huh? Huh? Huh?
Posted: at 25-11-2009 01:04 PM (13 years ago) | Newbie
Reply
- divineproject at 25-11-2009 01:21 PM (13 years ago)
(f)
Questions! questions!! and more questions

Posted: at 25-11-2009 01:21 PM (13 years ago) | Hero
Reply
- franciskingjnr4 at 25-11-2009 01:49 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
Swiss una don come again,e be like say una still never learn enuff lessons from Gadaffi and him son abi.  Na which criminal organisation dis guy dey operate with self, he dey push drug, abi he be arm robber. abeg make una leave the guy man and make una return the cash to am quick quick jare, after all wetin OBJ and him partners in crime do so far with the recovered once.
Posted: at 25-11-2009 01:49 PM (13 years ago) | Newbie
Reply
- Weida at 25-11-2009 02:34 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
nigerias supose de talk with action now o.
Posted: at 25-11-2009 02:34 PM (13 years ago) | Newbie
Reply
- afrikaAM at 25-11-2009 09:00 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
Oboy. String them up.

The Swiss need to stop hiding our $$.
Posted: at 25-11-2009 09:00 PM (13 years ago) | Newbie
Reply
- Agatex at 26-11-2009 11:28 AM (13 years ago)
(f)
abeg make them share give me small i need am bad bad
Posted: at 26-11-2009 11:28 AM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Reply
- zolazola at 26-11-2009 12:02 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
Quote from: Stlaw on 25-11-2009 04:43 PM
Oboy, too much dey disturb niaja, if by that time 3 billion dolls dey, hw abt now, geometric progression... But wetin dem dey do wit the money, light we no get, road nko...,
abeg all of una na dsame.
u sure say if u see ur sef there u no go do worst
we don see many critics wey go pack more than
any one. abi make i mension names?
Posted: at 26-11-2009 12:02 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Reply
- compo2500 at 26-11-2009 01:41 PM (13 years ago)
(f)
chaiii
Posted: at 26-11-2009 01:41 PM (13 years ago) | Newbie
Reply
- cyril4christ at 26-11-2009 01:54 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
CHAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIx3
Posted: at 26-11-2009 01:54 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Reply
- simele at 26-11-2009 02:17 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
Quote from: nametalkam on 25-11-2009 08:26 AM
Swiss authorities yesterday convicted Abba, one of the sons of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha, for graft and ordered $350 million worth of assets to be seized from him.

"The first order of the sentence issued yesterday by the examining magistrate found that Abba Abacha, born November 9, 1968, son of the late General Sani Abacha, was guilty of participation in a criminal organisation," Geneva Canton's justice office said in a statement.

It said the examining magistrate sentenced Abba to a suspended jail term and ordered the confiscation of his assets worth $350 million “which is held by his criminal organisation and seized through international assistance in Luxembourg and the Bahamas.”

Agency reports say the court was not immediately available for comment on the duration of Abba’s suspended jail sentence.

In yesterday's statement, the Swiss authorities also said they had convicted a financial intermediary who is currently domiciled in the Principality of Monaco, for having been part of the “criminal organisation” run by the Abacha clan.

The person, who was not named, has been sentenced to pay an unspecified fine.

“The person has also been ordered to pay the Canton of Geneva 10 million Swiss Francs -- which corresponds to illegal gains obtained from these culpable activities," added the statement.

General Abacha, who died in June 1998, is suspected of having siphoned over $3 billion from Nige-rian between his coming to power in November 1993 and his death four-and-a-half years later.

Some $700 million of his loot, which was stashed in Swiss banks, have since been returned by Switzerland to Nigerian authorities.

The General Abdulsalami Abubakar and later, Olusegun Obasanjo regime had put pressure on the Swiss government in a bid to recover an estimated $3 billion in embezzled state funds sent abroad by Abacha during his four and half-year rule.

Abacha used a circle of family members, close aides and business associates to transfer the loot.

At Nigeria's request, Switzerland froze hundreds of millions of dollars held there, as have Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

Between 1999 and 2007, the Obasanjo government succeeded in recovering about $700 million of the looted money from the Swiss government.

Recently, several leading banks in Switzerland have been criticised by the country's regulators for accepting money from the Abacha family

In a 2002 report, the Swiss Federal Banking Commission said 19 banks had dealings with Abacha and did not report suspicions of money laundering to the Swiss authorities.

Six banks - three branches of Crédit Suisse Plus, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, Union Bancaire Privée and MM Warburg - were singled out for failing to run adequate checks on new accounts, including those opened by General Abacha's two sons.

“The mere fact that significant assets of dubious origin, from people close to former Nigerian President Sani Abacha, were deposited at Swiss banks is highly unsatisfactory and damages the image of Switzerland as a financial centre,” Banking Commission chairman Kurt Hauri said in 2002 after a 10-month investigation.

The commission said that almost a third of the Abacha money deposited with Swiss banks had first been banked in the UK, United States and Austria.

na nigeria money
Posted: at 26-11-2009 02:17 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Reply
- Sheenor at 26-11-2009 07:50 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
hm

Posted: at 26-11-2009 07:50 PM (13 years ago) | Hero
Reply
- Mr-World at 26-11-2009 07:57 PM (13 years ago)
(m)
hmmm

Posted: at 26-11-2009 07:57 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Reply
[1] 2 3

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