Swiss to return $380m of Abacha's loot to Nigeria

Geneva - Geneva's public prosecutor will send $380m confiscated from the family of Nigeria's former military ruler Sani Abacha to Nigeria and closed a 16-year investigation into his funds, the prosecutor's office said.

Abacha stole as much as $5bn of public money during his five years running Africa's top oil producing country from 1993 until his death in 1998, according to the corruption watchdog Transparency International.

The return of the $380m follows an agreement between Nigeria and the Abacha family in July last year, the prosecutor's statement said. The agreement provides for Nigeria to receive the frozen funds in return for dropping a complaint against Abba Abacha, Sani's son.