Ex-Dictator’s Family Loses Appeal on Funds
From Times Wire Reports
Switzerland will return to Nigeria about $458 million that was siphoned into Swiss bank accounts by the African country’s former dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, the Supreme Court ruled, quashing an appeal by his family.
The Justice Department had designated $498 million for return, but the family objected. The court ruled that all but $40 million was “of clearly criminal origin,†the department said in a statement.
Nigerian authorities have accused the inner circle of Abacha, a military strongman who died in 1998, of plundering up to $3 billion.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
