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Swiss try to confiscate ‘Baby Doc’ millions

The Swiss finance ministry announced Monday that it had taken legal action to secure the confiscation of Haiti ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier's frozen Swiss millions after a 25-year court battle.

Published: 2 May 2011 17:04 CEST

The ministry filed a motion for confiscation with one of Switzerland’s top courts last Friday with the aim of returning about 5.8 million Swiss francs ($6.7 million) held in a Swiss bank to the impoverished Caribbean island.

It followed the green light given by the government on February 2 after a new law easing the restitution of stolen foreign assets to home countries  came into force.

“On April 29, 2011, the federal finance ministry filed a motion for confiscation of Duvalier assets blocked in Switzerland with the Federal Administrative Tribunal,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“If the motion for confiscation is admitted, Switzerland will return the Duvalier assets to Haiti,” in line with the new law, it added.

Switzerland had announced the first stage of return process, a fresh one-year block, three months ago.

“Baby Doc” Duvalier and his followers are accused of plundering hundreds of millions of dollars of state funds during their 15-year reign.

But traces of the assets have evaporated around the world over the decades, leaving the money repeatedly frozen by authorities in a Swiss bank in a tit-for-tat court battle with the holders since “Baby Doc” was toppled in 1986.

The Swiss accounts are held by the opaque Liechtenstein-based Brouilly foundation, which is tied to the Duvalier family, according to authorities. Haiti’s former strongman has denied that he owns the money.

Duvalier, who was accused of torture and murder during his presidential rule, returned from exile to Haiti in January this year, where he faces charges of corruption, theft and misappropriation of funds.

Swiss officials have said they want the money to be used for projects to tackle poverty.

Haiti’s president-elect, Michel Martelly, was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview last month that he was considering an amnesty for former leaders Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Duvalier to promote reconciliation.

For members

READER QUESTION

EXPLAINED: Can I terminate my Swiss telecom contract early?

When you sign up with a telecom provider in Switzerland, your fate is sealed: you must remain with that company until your agreement expires. But what if you want to get out of the contract ahead of schedule?

Published: 24 July 2024 13:21 CEST
EXPLAINED: Can I terminate my Swiss telecom contract early?

On July 24th, 2024, Switzerland’s largest telecom operator, Swisscom, has abandoned its inOne Home package, which includes the telephone, Internet and television, and replaced it with another service, Basic Home.

But the cost of the subscription increased from 50 francs a month to 59.90 francs.  

If you happen to be one of the Swisscom customers affected by this change, but did not cancel your subscription on time (read more about this below), you were ‘migrated’ to the new bundle automatically — and will be charged accordingly.

What happens if you don’t want this more expensive service but have not cancelled your contract in time?

More specifically, can you terminate your telecom subscription — whether with Swisscom or another company — at any time?

The simple answer is yes, but it will cost you money.

That’s because telecom contracts typically have a minimum term — usually 12 or 24 months, but this can vary — as well as the required cancellation notice period.

Each of Switzerland’s three main telecom providers — Swisscom, Sunrise, and Salt — have a two-month termination notice period, at calendar month’s end.

This is the usual notice period for smaller providers like Yallo, Wingo, Coop Mobile, LidlConnect, and M-Budget Mobile as well.

On the other hand, prepaid mobile services don’t require notice periods and can be terminated at any time.

What are the penalties for early termination?

If you cancel your service within the contractual notice period, then you are in the clear.

However, failing to do so can be expensive.

The reason is that telecoms will not just let you off the hook and wish you well while you contract with one of their competitors.

Most likely, you will be faced with one of two scenarios: the company will charge you penalty fees or continue to bill you for the plan until the notice period has expired.

Also, according to Moneyland consumer platform, “a practice that is widespread among Swiss telecom companies is to continue charging you the basic fees for your plan until the contract term expires… Regardless of whether you are terminating ahead of the contract term or just the notice period, telecom companies will require you to pay the full outstanding amount in both cases.”

In terms of actual amounts, they vary from one provider to another.

Swisscom charges the highest penalty fees for breach of contract — up to 4,800 francs.

Other mobile service providers impose penalties of several hundred francs, according to Moneyland.

Exceptions to the rule(s)

You are allowed you to terminate your contract early without penalties when a ‘negative’ change is made to your plan — that is, telecom provider reduces or drops services that were previously included.

Penalties can also be waved if you cancel your subscription early because you move out of Switzerland.

If you relocate within Switzerland, you won’t have to pay penalties, but only if your new home is completely uncovered by your provider’s mobile network.

Additionally, even though Swiss telecoms have a contractual right to raise their prices once a year to match changes in the consumer price index, these increases do entitle customers to terminate their contract early without penalty fees.

And, last but not least, death is also deemed a justifiable excuse to wave penalties.

As Moneyland put it, “all Swiss telecom companies take a customer-friendly approach in the case of death, allowing relatives to terminate the deceased’s contracts immediately without paying penalty fees.”

Can you just refuse to pay the early termination fees?

Unless you move out of the country, or go to live in an extremely rare place in Switzerland where there is no wi-fi coverage (like a cave), or die, then you do have to pay the penalties — unless you come to an amicable agreement of some sort with your telecom provider.

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