Swiss government freezes assets of Ben Ali, Gbagbo
By DPA, IANSWednesday, January 19, 2011
GENEVA - Switzerland’s federal government Wednesday said it was blocking assets owned by ousted Tunisian president Zine el-Abidine ben Ali and incumbent Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo.
The freeze would also affect the inner circles of both men.
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told reporters that she did not want the country’s financial centre to be misused.
Calmy-Rey, who also holds the rotating presidency of Switzerland, said the government was encouraging both the Ivory Coast and Tunisia to file requests to track down any illegal assets the two leaders might have in the country.
One Swiss radio report said Ben Ali’s assets include a jet plane and a building in the most expensive area of central Geneva, in the country’s southwest. The former president, who is accused of diverting state funds to his own pocket, last week fled to Saudi Arabia.
In Ivory Coast, a stalemate persists with incumbent Gbagbo refusing to hand over power to Alassane Ouattara - the man the world recognises as the rightful winner of November’s presidential election.
