A Swiss court has ordered the seizure of $350m (�212m) in assets from the son of Nigeria's former military ruler, General Sani Abacha. Abba Abacha was convicted of being a member of a criminal organisation and given a suspended custodial sentence.
Switzerland began investigating the Abacha family in 1999 and has so far handed back about $700m to Nigeria. Nigerian state lawyers believe Sani Abacha, who ruled from 1993 until his death in 1998, may have stolen $2.2bn.
The Swiss authorities pursued Abba Abacha for six years before extraditing him from Germany in 2005. "The examining magistrate sentenced him to a suspended jail term, and ordered the confiscation of his assets of $350m," Geneva canton's justice office said in a statement. "[The money] is held by his criminal organisation and seized through international assistance in Luxembourg and the Bahamas." Correspondents say Abba Abacha can appeal against the judgement.
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