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| August 26, 2008 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 23, 1429 |
Swiss prosecutor closes probe against Asif
GENEVA, Aug 25: The Geneva prosecutor says he has dropped money laundering charges against PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Prosecutor-General Daniel Zappelli’s move comes eight months after he dropped charges against MS Benazir Bhutto.
Zappelli noted on Monday that the Pakistani prosecutor had dropped his corruption cases against Zardari. Zappelli says Geneva’s 11-year investigation has produced too little for him to continue in light of the Pakistani prosecutor’s conclusion.
He says he had no choice but to close the case. Zappelli says he will give 3.9 million Swiss francs seized in the case to the Swiss government.
Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari, were suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder about $12 million (8.4 million euros) in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in the 1990s.
The couple were formally sentenced by decree on the charges in Geneva in 2003 after a first investigation, but the ruling was overturned on appeal.—AP/AFP
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