The Government of Switzerland has said it has returned to the Nigerian government about $700m, stashed in Swiss banks and traced to the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha. Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel, stated this in Abuja at a press briefing on Monday ahead of a two-day seminar on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism. He, however, added that the Swiss government would be ready to reopen the case if Nigeria presented fresh evidence of any monies still being held in any bank in the European nation. “Switzerland and Nigeria agreed to request the World Bank to participate in the review of the use of funds, in the framework of a budget control process of various welfare projects,” he said. Hodel, who maintained that Switzerland had no interest in withholding illicit funds, explained that his country had returned about $1.7bn to the where the money was stolen in the last 15 years.
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