A Swiss court last week ordered some $6 million of assets allegedly plundered by former Haitian President Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier be directed toward development efforts in Haiti.
The decision was achieved through the efforts of a joint World Bank and UN Office on Drugs and Crime program called the Stolen Assets Recovery initiative. Duvalier’s family has time to appeal, but this decision clearly gives notice to would-be kleptocrats that their stolen assets are not beyond the reach of international law.
So, who else should look out? Here is a list of top kleptocrats from the initiative’s action plan:
