Swiss MPs to vote on returning 1MDB money

Kuala Lumpur: The Swiss Parliament will table a motion next Tuesday calling for the repatriation of confiscated funds, including the CHF104 million (RM430 million) allegedly from state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad, said C4 director Cynthia Gabriel who received a copy of the motion.Lawmakers at the national council, the lower house of the Swiss federal assembly, are expected to vote on the matter on Thursday.

"Several Swiss financial institutions are involved in major corruption cases, such as the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB or (Brazil's) Petrobas," Gabriel said, reading from the motion.

"In all these procedures, Switzerland should not be regarded as the main victim, but primarily the Nigerian, Malaysian or Brazilian populations. Therefore, the unduly collected funds must at least be partially returned to them."

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer earlier said funds from 1MDB are being held in the Swiss Federal Treasury as there are no claimants.

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Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism and Bersih 2.0 at a press conference urged Swiss MPs to vote to return a portion of the 1MDB funds to the "rightful beneficiaries, the people of Malaysia".

If the funds are returned, Gabriel said, they can be managed by an independent body represented by different groups, using a trust model that employed a transparent and accountable process on how the funds will be distributed.

Gabriel said attempts in Malaysia to take 1MDB to court and to discuss it in Parliament have been met with "high-handed dismissiveness".

Motion 17.3547, entitled Repatriation of confiscated funds to the populations, will be tabled by Swiss lawmaker Sommaruga Carlo of the Social Democratic Party.

The motion stated that "unlawfully obtained profits" could be returned, "at least in part", in accordance with the Federal Act on the Restitution of Assets illicitly obtained by Politically Exposed Persons (FIAA).

The motion stated: "Account must also be taken of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which in Article 54, which requires that national provisions be met in order for a state party damaged by the offences to be compensated.

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The Swiss attorney-general's request for cooperation regarding 1MDB investigations last April was rebuffed by the Malaysian government.

Last week, the RM1 billion luxury yacht, Equanimity, owned by 1MDB-linked businessman Low Taek Jho, was seized in a joint effort by FBI and Indonesian authorities.

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