Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Switzerland agrees to return seized assets to Uzbekistan

Switzerland agreed on Tuesday to return to Uzbekistan millions in assets that were seized as part of criminal proceedings against the daughter of late Uzbek ruler Islam Karimov.

Published: 16 August 2022 15:57 CEST
Is moving to Switzerland for work worth it? Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash
(Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash)

Under the terms of the agreement — signed in Bern by Swiss President Ignazio Cassis and Uzbek Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov — a total USD 131 million in confiscated assets will be used to set up a UN fund for sustainable development in the former Soviet republic.

“The fund will allow the returned assets to be used for the benefit of the population of Uzbekistan,” Cassis said during the signing ceremony. 

Switzerland froze around CHF 800 million (USD 842 million) in 2012 in connection with criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova, the late Uzbek ruler’s eldest daughter, who is currently in jail on embezzlement and criminal conspiracy charges.

Approximately USD 131 million of that was definitively confiscated in 2019, and more could follow.

Bern insisted that the fund would not only be used for the amount currently seized, “but also for any assets definitively confiscated in the future in the ongoing criminal proceedings in connection with Gulnara Karimova.”

BACKGROUND: Uzbek leader’s daughter faces criminal probe

As “first daughter,” Karimova was among Uzbekistan’s powerful elite, serving in diplomatic posts, including in Geneva, and tipped as a potential successor to Karimov.

She organised a fashion week, had her own jewellery line, released pop singles and ran entertainment TV channels.

But several years before her father’s death in 2016, she suddenly fell from favour and feuded publicly with her mother and sister before being placed under house arrest.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Swiss earmark 10 million francs for UNRWA in Gaza

Switzerland is proposing to give $11 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, specifically for tackling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza triggered by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Published: 8 May 2024 14:18 CEST
Swiss earmark 10 million francs for UNRWA in Gaza

The government’s proposal, announced Wednesday after weeks of procrastination, represents half of the amount which was initially set to be paid to the UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency) in 2024.

“Switzerland’s 10 million Swiss francs contribution to UNRWA will be restricted to Gaza and will cover the most pressing basic needs, such as food, water, shelter, basic healthcare and logistics,” a government statement said.

Switzerland “is fully aware of the critical nature of this situation and recognises the urgent need for action”.

UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has been in crisis since January when Israel accused about a dozen of its 13,000 Gaza employees of being involved in the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.

This led many donor nations, including the United States and Switzerland, to abruptly suspend funding to the agency, threatening its efforts to deliver desperately-needed aid in Gaza, where the UN has warned of an impending famine.

An independent review group of UNRWA, led by French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” but said Israel had yet to provide evidence for its chief allegations.

In making its decision, the Swiss government said it “drew on the analysis of the Colonna report and coordination with other donors”.

The government’s decision must still be submitted to parliament’s foreign affairs committees for consultation.

On April 30th, the Swiss head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said that of the $450 million in funding that had been frozen by donors, $267 million was still suspended, the bulk of it by Washington.

Gaza’s bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas’s unprecedented October 7th attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has conducted a retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 34,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Switzerland “reiterates its call for a humanitarian ceasefire, unhindered access for emergency aid to Gaza, compliance with international humanitarian law, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” the government said.

SHOW COMMENTS