LAUSANNE, Switzerland, CMC – The Federal Supreme Court Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling that had barred the family of deposed Haitian leader Jean-Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier from access to millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts.
The lower courts had ruled that the money should have gone to charities doing work in Haiti during the aftermath of a powerful earthquake on January 12 that killed an estimated 200,000 people and leaving more than one million homeless.
The decision of the Federal Supreme Court cannot be appealed, but the Swiss Foreign Ministry said it would try to keep the money blocked while it works on a new law for dealing with assets of “criminal origin”.
As a result of the ruling, the Duvalier family can access US$4.6 million.
The Swiss government said it “wants to avoid the Swiss financial centre serving as a haven for illegally acquired assets,” adding that a new law working retroactively could be ready this month.
Duvalier, who was ousted in 1986, is believed to have robbed the Haitian treasury of millions of dollars and is said to be living in exile in France. He has always denied the accusation.
The Federal Supreme Court decision was handed down earlier this month but only made public on Wednesday.
It said the alleged crimes against the Duvaliers fell outside the statute of limitations, reversing an August decision by a lower court that found the Duvalier family had essentially acted as a “criminal organisation” by diverting public funds through a Liechtenstein foundation to accounts in Swiss bank UBS AG.
The Supreme Court said it was unhappy about the ruling but that its hands were tied because the statute of limitations expired in 2001. It also urged Parliament to make it easier for assets belonging to deposed dictators to be repatriated to national governments.
Haiti made its first request for the money in 1986, but Switzerland refused to give it back because the Haitian government did not file any charges against Duvalier.
Evil can never win good will always prevails. Tomorrow will bring HAITI a better day where all there PEOPLE can laugh and all there CHILDREN can play. And they won’t have to worry about yesterday which is the ( DU Valiers ) Cause tommorow will bring them a better day. Stand strong HAITI the Du Valiers will get excalty what they deserve. Every penny that was taken from you must return God is not dead..
Way to go TAMMY. I couldn’t have said it better myself. They ask for our vote get into office and raid the citizens who put them there. Is this a trend or what!? Do you guys realize that this happens only in the poorest countries in the world. With black and hispanic leaders. Greedy and power hungry leaders will stop at nothing to stay in power and defraud the country that they profess to love.
And why this should not have taught us a lesson?
I guess we should not be jealous of people in Government rising quickly should we?
Baby doc asking for his money at a time when his country was devastated by an earthquake, instead of directing that the money go to his impoverished haiti, is like getting raped and being asked to pay for the rape kit at the same time- shame on him!!I hope he gets poetic justice before he dies; actually i hope he gets real old and frail and is taken advantaged of in a not -so benign way.
Re: Evil wins again…..That’s only for a time…Justice prevails in the end.
and we are suppose to send our 10 dollars to haiti?
What a Fu*#head! the piece of Sh*# still wants to F*#% that poor nation still after such devastation they just suffered.
I hope he suffers double what they just did in his own self inflicted HELL before he dies, and in the real HELL next to his father. papa-fuc holding his bed of nails in ‘the fire’ for him.
Evil wins again.