Posted by Agence France-Presse From correspondents in Geneva on
THE Swiss government has returned $US290 million ($381.03 million) to Nigeria which had been embezzled by late dictator Sani Abacha and stashed in Swiss bank accounts, it said today.
THE Swiss government has returned $US290 million ($381.03 million) to Nigeria which had been embezzled by late dictator Sani Abacha and stashed in Swiss bank accounts, it said today.
A payment order for this amount has been sent, justice and police ministry spokesman Livio Zanolari told the Swiss press agency ATS.
A second payment of $US170 million ($A223.36 million) is due to follow at an unspecified date, he added.
In May, the Swiss government announced it would pay back the $US460 million ($A604.39 million) in two stages after a supervision deal was finalised by the World Bank to ensure that the money will be spent on health, education and infrastructure development projects as Nigeria has promised.
The Swiss payment follows the threat of legal action by Nigeria over the slow pace of the operation.
In August 2004, the Swiss government said it would hand back the last of the Nigerian funds frozen in Swiss accounts, a decision confirmed by the courts.
Abacha, who died in 1998, is believed to have looted about $US2.2 billion ($A2.89 billion) from his country's central bank during his years in office from November 1993 to June 1998.