$321m Abacha loot: FG debunks report on payment of $79m commission to Swiss Govt

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said her attention has been drawn to a report published in the Saturday edition of the Punch, December 10, which she said erroneously claimed that the Federal Government has agreed to pay a $79 million commission to the Swiss government as part of conditions for repatriation of the Abacha loot.

According to a press statement by Mr. Festus Akanbi, the Special Assistant, Media to Honourable Minister of Finance,  “the Minister  clarified that the amount payable to Nigeria from Switzerland is $321 million, and is being returned to Nigeria for projects which are subject to verification by the World Bank. The recovery process is ongoing with the Swiss authorities and the World Bank has agreed to undertake the required verification.

According to him, she stated that there was no deduction of $79 million as suggested in the report which is both “misleading and inaccurate”. She assured that recovery will be made in full and that there is neither commitment nor requirement to pay any commission.

“The Federal Government is committed to securing the return of all looted funds in their entirety and has never entered into any sharing arrangement as suggested in the report.”

“Intense efforts continue to secure all monies due to Nigeria including an additional $400 million of Abacha loot held up in US Courts on which the Attorney General of the Federation and the Ministry of Finance are engaging with their US counterparts to secure expeditiously”, the statement stated.