Switzerland has frozen about US$1 billion in assets belonging to people connected to the leaders of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia as of Monday 2nd May, according to the country's foreign minister.
Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resigned following nationwide demonstrations in January and February this year respectively. Libya's Mu'ammar Qadhafi is currently facing a rebellion, but has so far remained in power. All three leaders amassed large personal fortunes during their decades in power, but Switzerland's announcement provides crucial insight into the magnitude of their wealth.
Financial regulators in Switzerland identified US$416 million in assets believed to belong to Qadhafi, US$474 that is linked to Mubarak and US$69 million belong to Ben Ali.
The announcement was made by Switzerland's Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey at a diplomatic meeting in the Tunisian capital, Tunis. Switzerland has been trying to ditch its reputation as a safe haven for corrupt official's money, an issue Calmy-Rey addressed on Monday.
“The idea of Switzerland as a safe haven for stolen funds belongs to the past, and, if at all, is best left to crime thrillers,” she said.
Calmy-Rey said Switzerland has acted quickly to freeze accounts of leaders throughout 2011. She said that five days after Ben Ali was toppled, officials ordered his assets to be frozen. Similarly, thirty minutes after Mubarak announced he was stepping down, his assets were frozen. When Qadhafi started to bomb the rebels, institutions were alledgedly ordered to block all Libyan money.
In each case, Switzerland announced it was freezing the assets of the leaders and their inner circles before the US and the EU. Indeed, the US has still not frozen the assets of Ben Ali or Mubarak, although it has seized US$34 billion in assets tied to the Libyan regime.
As part of their efforts to reform their reputation for bank secrecy, the Swiss passed a law last year making it easier for the government to freeze assets and repatriate them.
The Swiss government says Tunisia and Egypt have already started legal proceedings to claim the assets.
Sources: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
For more information, please see the Menas ACCS website, here.
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