Switzerland has frozen 70 million Swiss francs ($81 million) linked to former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo and his associates, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Gbagbo had refused to leave power after an election last November that U.N.-certified results showed he had lost.
Switzerland ordered his assets seized in January to prevent them being diverted before Ivory Coast could launch domestic criminal proceedings, the ministry's statement said.
The election victor, Alassane Ouattara, finally took control in April when his forces, backed by French and U.N. soldiers, captured Gbagbo after days of heavy fighting.
The funds are blocked for up to three years under the Swiss cabinet's order, pending a request from Ivory Coast for legal assistance, on the basis of its own criminal proceedings against Gbagbo.
Folco Galli, spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry, said no such request had been received yet.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/05/us-swiss-gbagbo-idUSTRE74467K20110505
Gbagbo had refused to leave power after an election last November that U.N.-certified results showed he had lost.
Switzerland ordered his assets seized in January to prevent them being diverted before Ivory Coast could launch domestic criminal proceedings, the ministry's statement said.
The election victor, Alassane Ouattara, finally took control in April when his forces, backed by French and U.N. soldiers, captured Gbagbo after days of heavy fighting.
The funds are blocked for up to three years under the Swiss cabinet's order, pending a request from Ivory Coast for legal assistance, on the basis of its own criminal proceedings against Gbagbo.
Folco Galli, spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry, said no such request had been received yet.
Read More
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/05/us-swiss-gbagbo-idUSTRE74467K20110505
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