[osint] Switzerland Repatriates $458m to Nigeria

[Tyler Durden]

Greetings Good Sir:

I have a business propisition for you. I am the president of Nigeria and I 
am trying to obtain $458m in accounts in Switzerland that were previously 
owned by the late General Sani Abacha. However, in order to release these 
funds I will need a local representative. In exchange for your services I am 
prepared to pay you 2.5% of the amount reclaimed.

Please contact me at your soonest convenience. I am sure we can make an 
equitable arrangement that will benefit us both.

God Bless you and your family.

(forwarded by Tyler Durden)

>From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
>To: cypherpunks at al-qaeda.net
>Subject: [osint] Switzerland Repatriates $458m to Nigeria
>Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 12:34:06 -0500
>
>--- begin forwarded text
>
>
>To: "Bruce Tefft" <btefft at community-research.com>
>Thread-Index: AcUVCpcZCIoZtD6dRp62Gatn1nTR2g==
>From: "Bruce Tefft" <btefft at community-research.com>
>Mailing-List: list osint at yahoogroups.com; contact 
>osint-owner at yahoogroups.com
>Delivered-To: mailing list osint at yahoogroups.com
>Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 11:06:28 -0500
>Subject: [osint] Switzerland Repatriates $458m to Nigeria
>Reply-To: osint at yahoogroups.com
>
>
>http://allafrica.com/stories/200502170075.html
>
>
>
>Switzerland Repatriates $458m to Nigeria
>
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>This
><http://allafrica.com/publishers.html?passed_name=This%20Day&passed_location
>=Lagos>  Day (Lagos)
>
>February 17, 2005
>Posted to the web February 17, 2005
>
>Kunle Aderinokun
>Abuja
>
>FG to start drawing funds in March
>
>The Federal Government yesterday announced that the Swiss government has
>approved the repatriation of $458 million, being bulk of the $505 million 
>of
>public fund stashed away in various private bank accounts in that country 
>by
>the late General Sani Abacha and his family.
>
>Making this disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the instance of Swiss
>Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Pierre Helg, Finance Ministe Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
>said the fund will be transferred into the International Bank for 
>Settlement
>(BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, and that Nigeria will be able to withdraw the
>money by the end of March this year.
>
>Okonjo-Iweala, who said the Swiss authorities did not attach any condition
>for the repatriation of the siphoned monies, said the release was sequel to
>the judgment of the Swiss Federal Court, which ruled that the "Swiss
>authorities may return assets of obviously criminal origin to Nigeria even
>without a court decision in the country concerned."
>
>The finance minister said President Olusegun Obasanjo since assumption of
>office had vigorously and relentlessly pursued return of the funds with the
>help of the National Security Adviser and herself.
>
>Noting that with this development, Switzerland has earned a positive status
>as the first country to return funds illegally placed by the Abacha family,
>Okonjo-Iweala said "the Federal Government is indeed grateful to the
>government of Switzerland for the principled and focused manner in which it
>has pursued this just cause."
>
>"We hope that the Swiss example at both the political and judicial level
>will show the way for other countries where our national resources have 
>been
>illegally transferred. Switzerland's policy on this issue is a clear sign
>that crime does not pay. Nigeria is ready to work with other governments to
>achieved the repatriation of other funds which were siphoned out of the
>country illegally," she added.
>
>She recalled that Obasanjo had on behalf of the administration made a
>commitment to the Swiss government that the Abacha loots will be used for
>developmental projects in health and education as well as for 
>infrastructure
>(roads, electricity and water supply) for the benefit of Nigerians.
>
>"This", she pointed out, "is of course, very much in keeping with the
>priorities of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
>(NEEDS), the nation's blue-print for reducing poverty, creating wealth and
>generating employment."
>
>She stated that after receiving the assurances of the Swiss authorities 
>that
>the funds will be released , the federal government had "decided to factor
>most of the Abacha funds into the 2004 budget so that the urgent challenges
>of providing infrastructure and social services to our people would not be
>delayed. This is to ensure that our programmes which are on-going are
>adequately funded."
>
>According to her, the Federal Government had distributed the recovered $505
>million looted funds in the 2004 budget as: rural electrification,
>$170million (N21.70billion); priority economic roads, $140 million
>(N18.60billion); primary health care vaccination programme, $80 million
>(N10.83 billion); support to secondary and basic education, $60 million
>(N7.74 billion); and portable water and rural irrigation, $50 million 
>(N6.20
>billion).
>
>In his remarks, the Swiss ambassador to Nigeria, Helg said "Switzerland
>possesses an efficient set of legal instruments to defend itself against 
>the
>inflow of illegal assets, and to recognize, block and return them to their
>rightful owners." He noted that "the recent decision of the Federal Supreme
>Court will strengthen the deterrent effect of Switzer-land's legal 
>mechanism
>against potential future inflows of illegal capital."
>
>He added that "the decision strengthens the Swiss position regarding the
>restitution of funds of politically exposed persons, which is: Switzerland
>has no interest in accepting illegal funds. It's financial center does not
>provide for a safe haven for illegal money, which should primarily be used
>for the benefit of the people of the country in question. The point must
>again be made that Swiss banking secrecy is not an obstacle to the
>investigation of criminal acts and to the international efforts to combat
>crime."
>
>He said Switzerland has received assurances from Obasanjo and Okonjo-Iweala
>that the returned funds will be channeled to the areas of health (fighting
>HIV/AIDS), education and infrastructure in the 2004/2005 fiscal period.
>
>"The funds will be used within the framework of the Nigeria national
>strategy to implement the United Nations Millennium Goals. The Nigerian
>government has given assurances of transparency in the use of the funds and
>is in agreement to the full inspection of the relevant accounts. 
>Switzerland
>has an interest in preventing the funds from being recycled for criminal
>purposes.
>
>"For this reasons, it has agreed with Nigeria to place control on projects
>financed by the Abacha's assets. These controls are expected to be carried
>out by the World Bank. The exact modalities are in the process of being
>established. Nigeria has given its consent to allowing civil society to 
>play
>an appropriate role in this monitoring project," he said.
>
>The Abacha family had relentlessly waged legal battles to stop the release
>of the funds. But the Swiss Federal Court last week, ruled in favour of the
>repatriation of the monies back to Nigeria.
>
>The Swiss authorities have investigated bank accounts linked to the Abacha
>family for over three years since the Nigerian government accused the late
>leader of looting up to $3 billion from state coffers during his rule from
>1993 until his death in June 1998.
>
>
>
>
>Last month, one of the Abacha sons, Abba, was arrested in Neuss, Germany
>when he attempted to close an account. He was accused of money laundering,
>fraud and breach of trust, and Swiss authorities sought his extradition 
>from
>Germany to assist them in the course of their investigations.
>
>Nine Swiss banks were reportedly investigated during the period. The first
>restitution of $200 million from the Abacha funds in Switzwerland was in
>2003.
>
>
>
>
>
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>R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
>The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
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