>
> Switzerland has become the first country to sign up to a global initiative
> to recover money looted by corrupt government leaders.
>
> The joint UN-World Bank scheme aims to foster relations between developed
> and developing nations to ensure assets are returned to their rightful
> owners.
>
> Correspondents say Switzerland is famous for its secretive banks and a
> relaxed attitude to dirty money.
>
> The World Bank says the campaign is a warning to corrupt leaders everywhere.
>
> Clear message
>
> Swiss banks provided a cosy home for $500m looted by former Philippines
> dictator Ferdinand Marcos, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne.
>
> When the Philippines finally got a democratic government, it took 18 years
> to get that money back.
>
> Nigeria's former leader Sani Abacha liked Swiss banks too - to the tune of
> $700m.
>
>
> The new initiative aims to make things easier for developing countries to
> recover money they often need badly.
>
> By joining the campaign so quickly, Paul Seger, head of international public
> law at the Swiss foreign ministry, is keen to send a message - looted assets
> will not find a home in Switzerland any longer.
>
> "We do not want our financial centre being used by illegal money, and we
> have really developed quite an extensive framework to prevent such money
> from coming into Switzerland," he said.
>
> "If it comes to restitute this money as quickly as possible - we have
> returned in the past years $1.6bn, which is far more than any other
> financial place in Europe or elsewhere."
>
> 'Fighting a cliche'
>
> Mr Seger knows the image of Swiss banks as easy places to hide dirty cash
> will be hard to shake, despite new laws against money laundering.
>
> "If you look at the last James Bond movie, or Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code,
> there's always the mean Swiss bankers who hide all this money," he said.
>
> "So we are fighting against a cliche but I think, really, we are fighting it
> successfully.
>
> "Dictators who have put their money into Swiss bank accounts illegally will
> now think twice whether they will still do that in the future.
>
> "I would say now that Switzerland is probably the worst place in the world
> now for anybody who wants to stack illegal money in a hidden bank account."
>
> So Switzerland, which once insisted that its banks could do no wrong, has
> now promised to provide support and expertise to an international campaign
> to make sure looted assets do not disappear for good.
>
> It is a warning to corrupt leaders everywhere, the World Bank says, that
> they will not escape the law, wherever they put their money.
>
>