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.