1. Wealth
April 29, 2010

Reuters: Switz to speed up looted-asset return

By Spear's

BERNE, April 28 (Reuters) – Switzerland on Wednesday unveiled a bill aimed at speeding up the return of assets locked in Swiss accounts to the countries they were looted from, amending legislation after a series of embarrassments.

BERNE, April 28 (Reuters) – Switzerland on Wednesday unveiled a bill aimed at speeding up the return of assets locked in Swiss accounts to the countries they were looted from, amending legislation after a series of embarrassments.

A loophole in the system meant the Swiss repeatedly failed to confiscate and hand over to Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries which suffered a devastating earthquake in January, nearly $6 million belonging to former ruler “Baby Doc” Duvalier held in Switzerland.

Under the old rules, the Swiss cannot return assets unless the country of origin files a formal request for assistance in criminal matters.

To read the full story, visit reuters.com

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