Fresh talks urged on Marcos money

Fresh talks urged on Marcos money

MANILA (Reuter): A high ranking Swiss official yesterday urged
fresh negotiations among rival claimants to the estimated $500
million kept by late Philippine ruler Ferdinand Marcos in Swiss
banks to determine who the money should go to.

Federal Councillor Jean-Pascal Delamuraz said Switzerland was
not interested in the money and was eager to hand it over to the
rightful claimants.

Delamuraz, speaking through an interpreter, said it was in
everyone's interest to settle the issue of who had rightful claim
to the money "because the more we wait, the more we see new
claimants and new partners to enter the scene".

The money is claimed by the Philippine government, the Marcos
family and victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos era.