In an embarrassment to Switzerland's government, the country's top court said Wednesday that at least $4.6 million in Swiss bank accounts previously awarded to charities must be returned to the family of Haiti's ex-dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.
The decision was unrelated to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, killing at least 150,000 people, but the amount of money contested could feed more than a million Haitians for two weeks.
The court's decision was reached hours before the quake but only published Wednesday, prompting the Swiss government to issue an emergency decree to keep the money frozen in a Swiss bank until a new law can be passed allowing it to be donated to aid groups working in Haiti. |