According to the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, $2.4 million in assets were returned to Mali. Switzerland also paid the fees of the Mali lawyer. (Source: Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 30, 2009.)
The 1991 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request by the Malian government had asked if Switzerland would be willing to pay for a Swiss lawyer who could represent the interests of the Malian State. The request was accepted and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC). The Konare government spent the money on rural development programs. (Source: Anne Lugon-Moulin, "Asset recovery: concrete challenges for development assistance," in Mark Pieth, ed., Recovering Stolen Assets (2008))
According to the BBC timeline of Mali's history, Mr. Traore was pardoned in 2002. (Source: BBC, Timeline: Mali, on May 10, 2011.)
Contributing factors to asset recovery were, according to Anne Lugon-Moulin, Mali "asked Switzerland if it was willing to pay for the fees of a Swiss lawyer who could represent the interests of the Malian State. This request was accepted and funded by the [Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation], which had been operating in Mali for many years.... It was the first time that Switzerland had repatriated assets to an African State, and was also an example of an innovative collaboration between the Federal Department of Justice and the Foreign Affairs Department." (Source: Anne Lugon-Moulin, "Asset recovery: concrete challenges for development assistance," in Mark Pieth, ed., Recovering Stolen Assets (Peter Lang, 2008))
Assets returned
Switzerland noted that the Government of Mali spent the funds on rural development programs.
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