The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office will take its investigation into suspected money laundering by 12 members of the Swiss Tamil Tigers (LTTE) to the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, it was reported on Sunday.
The NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported that in the Netherlands, Swiss prosecutors planned to interview the head of finance of the LTTE who is imprisoned there. In Sri Lanka, prosecutors will question some 25 people from senior ranks of the Tamil Tigers, some of whom are currently imprisoned.
Jeannette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office told the paper the aim of the investigations, due to take place in autumn, was to strengthen the money laundering case against the 12 Swiss Tamils.
“It’s to prove that the Swiss branch of the global LTTE knowingly and willingly misused money from illegally obtained loans to inject it into the international finance circuit of the organisation,” Balmer said.
The proecutor’s office suspects that the Tamils used fake payslips or Sri Lankans resident in Switzerland to obtain loans of between SFr70,000 – 100,000 ($73,000 – 104,000). Once obtained, the cash was couriered to Sri Lanka where it was laundered locally and eventually used to finance the purchase of weapons during the civil war, the prosecutor believes.
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