Some corrupt Tanzanians, including
prominent business tycoons and some top government officials, have
secretly stashed away a whopping Sh315.5 billion ($196.87 million) in
Swiss banks, The Guardian has learnt.
The amount is a quarter of the amount Kenya’s tycoons and politicians have secretly stashed away in Swiss banks.
According to a report released by the
Swiss central bank, Swiss National Bank, early this week Tanzania is
among eleven African countries whose nationals have secretly stashed
away millions of dollars in the country’s banks.
This is the first time the Swiss central
bank has released financial details on various culprits who have stolen
billions of dollars from Africa - an indication that gone are the days
when African thieves enjoyed strong protection of their looted billions
by Swiss banks and authorities.
The report further shows that Kenya is the
leading offender in East Africa in terms of the amount of money that
has been stashed away in Swiss banks. According to the report, a
staggering Ksh72 (Tsh1.296 trillion) is in the country’s banks.
The report shows further that other
countries whose nationals have stashed stolen wealth in Switzerland, in
billions of Swiss francs, include Uganda (154m), Egypt (798m), South
Africa (795m) and Seychelles (2.515bn), Zimbabwe (96m), Senegal (150m),
Rwanda (29m), Sierra Leone (29m), Somalia (1m) and Sudan (179m).
One Swiss franc is equivalent to Sh1,900, according to current exchange rates in the domestic financial market.
“The total overseas funds in Switzerland’s banking system stood at 1.53 trillion Swiss francs,” the report adds.
For the past one decade global pressure
has been mounting on Switzerland to ask its banks to share information
about their clients with foreign governments.
Reacting to the report by the Swiss
central bank yesterday, director general of the Prevention and Combating
of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Dr Edward Hosea (pictured) said, “ We are
going to write to the Swiss authorities on Monday (next week) to demand a
copy of the report.”
“We want to know the names of those who
have secretly stashed billions of shillings in Swiss banks…we promise to
recover the stolen billions once we have the list,” the PCCB chief told
The Guardian over the phone.
The anti-graft czar further said, “People
should stop laundering money to Swiss banks because they are no longer a
safe haven as they used to be in the past.
Things have changed so much that in
today’s world, no matter how long it might take, in the end all the
culprits would be known and arrested.”
Early this week Dr Hosea, who is also
chairman of the African Union’s Advisory Board on Anti-corruption
(AU-ABC), expressed dismay over the continuing ‘rampant corruption’ in
the continent, blaming some leaders for abusing their offices and
condoning the malpractice.
Source: The Guardian
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