Swiss Parliament throws out motion to repatriate '1MDB funds'

The Swiss Parliament has voted against a motion seeking the restitution of illicitly-generated funds to its country of origin.

The motion, which was tabled today by Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) lawmaker Carlo Sommaruga, received 138 votes against it, with 53 votes for it. No one abstained from voting.

The Swiss government’s seizure of CHF104 million (RM430 million) linked to Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB is stated in the motion.

“The fight for more justice and solidarity and less corruption and illicit financial flows goes on,” SP international secretary Peter Hug told Malaysiakini in an email this evening.

Swiss Foreign Affairs Department head Ignazio Cassis had said during the National Council debate on the motion that it was “too broad”.

Cassis is a member of the Federal Council, the executive arm of the Swiss government.

“The motion is... too broad, since it asks the Federal Council to intervene beyond what can be done, because of the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary,” he said.

Cassis said decisions to repatriate illicit funds should depend on the outcome of any possible criminal proceedings.

“The Federal Council has played an important role in assisting with the reimbursements... in some particularly complex and large corruption cases.

“However, the accompaniment of such repatriation has always been in accordance with the decisions of the judiciary and at their request,” Cassis said.

Previously, SP had clarified that illicit funds seized in Switzerland were not to be returned to the government but to its people.

Article 17 of the Swiss Foreign Illicit Assets Act (FIAA) stipulates that the restitution of assets shall be made either to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the country of origin or to strengthen that country’s rule of law and thus to contribute in the fight against impunity.

Article 18 of the same Act rules that in the absence of an agreement with the country of origin, the restitution of assets will be made through national or international organisations, including NGOs.

Malaysian NGOs and opposition MPs have lobbied for the money to be returned to the “rightful beneficiaries”, namely the people of Malaysia.

The funds in question were seized by the Swiss government from three banks – BSI Bank, Coutts & Co and Falcon Bank – after they were implicated in laundering 1MDB-linked monies.

The banks are appealing the seizures in the Federal Administration Court.

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer said previously that the funds seized have since flowed into the Swiss Federal Treasury because there were no claimants. -Mkini