Returning assets to the people is a priority, says ambassador
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – More than CHF1 billion in assets linked to the regimes of dictators who fell during the Arab spring, as well as Syrian assets, have been frozen and it’s a priority for these to be returned to the countries, Ambassador Valentin Zellweger, who heads the international law office at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday morning 15 October. Zellweger was speaking at a press conference.
The process of returning them is slowed down by legal complexities in each case, however, he noted.
Specifically, the blocked funds are:
Tunisia’s Ben Ali, CHF60 million (accounts of 48 persons)
Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, CHF700m (accounts of 32 persons)
Libya’s Qaddafi clan, CHF100m
Syria’s al-Assad family, CHF100m.
