Haiti: Baby Doc's Cold Cash
"Behind every great fortune there is a crime," wrote Honore de Balzac, and Swiss bankers seem to be concluding that the French novelist was right. Less than one month after freezing the bank accounts of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Switzerland last week took similar action against Haiti's deposed dictator, Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier.
The Haitian government, which requested the action, charges that Duvalier, who fled to France last February in the face of a popular revolt, amassed between $200 million and $900 million during his nearly 15 years as President- for-Life. The Haitians, however, may have waited too long to act. Swiss financial experts believe that Duvalier, who is living with his wife Michele and family in a villa in Grasse, France, could already have transferred his fortune to accounts that do not bear his name.
Most Popular »
- Will Your Next Car be Made in India?
- Obama's Falling Poll Ratings: Why He Has To Worry
- Israel vs. Hizballah: Drumbeats of War
- The Pentagon Prepares for a Missile Attack from 'Iran'
- In Cleveland, Worker Co-Ops Look to a Spanish Model
- Top Stocks of the Decade
- The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade from Hell
- Made in India: The $12,000 Electric Car
- The Eurostar Breakdown: 'Tis the Season to Be Livid
- Agent Orange Poisons New Generations in Vietnam
- In Cleveland, Worker Co-Ops Look to a Spanish Model
- Dear President Obama: What North Korea Might Say
- Top Stocks of the Decade
- Agent Orange Poisons New Generations in Vietnam
- Despite U.S. Help, Yemen Faces Growing Al-Qaeda Threat
- Will Your Next Car be Made in India?
- Obama's Falling Poll Ratings: Why He Has To Worry
- Super-Earth: Astronomers Find a Watery New Planet
- Snow Job for the Avatar Opening?
- Forcing Insurers to Spend Enough on Health Care
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
RSS