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Nigerian corruption cash seized

Written by Sevencam
Tuesday, 24 November 2009 00:00

A court in Switzerland has ordered the son of a former Nigerian dictator to renounce 350 million US dollars in assets currently frozen abroad after convicting him for graft.

Legal experts have hailed the latest ruling as a new precedent that will support the fight against corruption around the world.

Abba Abacha was found guilty of participating in a criminal organisation and sentenced to a suspended prison term. He is the son of General Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998 and is believed to have stolen over two billion US dollars of public money.

The case has been going on for almost a decade and the Swiss authorities have already handed over around 700 million US dollars of the Abacha family's money to the Nigerian government.

This news story was originally featured on the Panos London website.