..oh. like he hasn’t been misusing since, . . what, . .1969?
What’s the world coming to when third-world dictators can’t squirrel their assets away in Switzerland?!
This seems like an odd thing for the Swiss to do, depending on how the accounts/funds were registered, e.g. in the name of the families or the state, etc. Also, an African state having a Swiss bank account also seems odd, at least to me.
I wonder if Obama has a Swiss bank account?
Wow, don’t keep in money in Switzerland. When did they appoint themselves policeman of Libya’s state funds?
First they seized the assets of the Egyptian dictator, and I did not speak up because I was not an Egyptian dictator. Then they seized the assets of the Libyan dictator, and I did not speak up because I was not a Libyan dictator...
Fine, but I notice they didn’t freeze his assets before today. He’s only been in power fifty years.
Mubarak was in office for decades, but they only decided to seize his assets after he was on the ropes.
You could wonder if there wasn’t maybe a bit of a conflict of interest here. They seize billions and, whats the downside for the bank? If Khadaffi was a thief, does that make them the thief of a thief? Complicit in the theft for half a century, and now they help themselves to the whole thing.
They choose the moment of greatest vulnerability and then freeze the account, in effect deciding the outcome of a civil war. So, fine, bringing down Khadaffi is a good thing, but this sets a different precedent. This encourages dictators to stay and fight rather than take the last plane out.
It also means that your banker gets the final word on whether or not you get the contents of your bank account when the day comes you really need it. Of course, if you’re Khadaffi and billions are at stake, you should make sure you have people who know the home address of the people trying to make off with your money.