Latest news with #restitution
France 24
21 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
French govt prepares new law to return colonial-era art
If approved, the law would make it easier for the country to return cultural goods in France's national collection "originating from states that, due to illicit appropriation, were deprived of them" between 1815 and 1972, said the culture ministry. It will cover works obtained through "theft, looting, transfer or donation obtained through coercion or violence, or from a person who was not entitled to dispose of them", the ministry added. The bill was presented during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a government spokeswoman told reporters. The Senate is due to discuss it September. Former colonial powers in Europe have been slowly moving to send back some artworks obtained during their imperial conquests, but France is hindered by its current legislation. The return of every item in the national collection must be voted on individually. Wednesday's draft law is designed to simplify and streamline the process. France returned 26 formerly royal artefacts including a throne to Benin in 2021. They were part of the collection of the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum in Paris, which holds the majority of the 90,000 African works estimated to be in French museums, according to an expert report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018. A "talking drum" that French colonial troops seized from the Ebrie tribe in 1916 was sent back to Ivory Coast earlier this year. In 2019, France's then prime minister Edouard Philippe handed over a sword to the Senegalese president that was believed to have belonged to the 19th-century West African Islamic scholar and leader, Omar Tall. Other European states, including Germany and the Netherlands, have handed back a limited number of artefacts in recent years Britain faces multiple high-profile claims but has refused to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece and the Kohinoor diamond to India, two of the best-known examples. The French draft law is the third and final part of legislative efforts to speed up the removal and return of artworks held in France's national collection. Two other laws -- one to return property looted by the Nazis, and a second to return human remains -- were approved in 2023.
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Jewish groups pursue new compensation over Nazi-linked Swiss bank accounts
Swiss banking giant UBS could be on the hook for billions in restitution to Holocaust survivors, if allegations by Jewish groups are proven of undisclosed Nazi legacy accounts inherited from collapsed Credit Suisse. UBS is completing its investigation into the matter, according to Bloomberg. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and a key figure behind the $1.25 billion settlement with Swiss banks in 1998, told Bloomberg he believes that the banks owe much more. 'We probably left $5 to $10 billion on the table,' he said. In 2020, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, accused Credit Suisse of failing to disclose accounts linked to Nazi clients. In response, the bank commissioned an internal investigation. After UBS acquired Credit Suisse in 2023, it reinstated independent ombudsman Neil Barofsky, a former US prosecutor, to lead a more extensive review. The final report is expected to be completed early next year, according to Bloomberg. The probe has uncovered irregularities, the outlet noted. Barofsky's preliminary work revealed hundreds of accounts, some marked under internal labels like an 'American blacklist,' suggesting intentional concealment during prior investigations. 'The numbers are staggering. Where a Jewish person may have put in $100,000, these Nazis were putting in $10 or $20 million or the equivalent,' Lauder said, claiming that money was likely looted from Holocaust victims. 'None of that was covered by the 90s settlement.' Lauder argues that UBS may now need to pay billions more in restitution. Others contend the 1998 agreement protects the banks from future financial liability. Credit Suisse, once Switzerland's second-largest bank, was acquired by UBS in 2023 following a series of scandals and losses. The historic merger ended Credit Suisse's 167-year legacy and shook global confidence in Switzerland's banking sector.
Russia Today
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Everything stolen from Africa must be returned
Africa must reclaim everything that was taken by Western colonial powers – not only stolen cultural artifacts, but also its dignity, independence, and economic agency, Mozambican Foreign Minister Maria Manuela Lucas said on Tuesday. Speaking after talks in Moscow with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, she argued that historical injustices must be addressed through structural reform, not just symbolic acts from Western powers. Lucas stressed that Africa's return to sovereignty must go beyond the repatriation of museum pieces and focus on transforming how the continent takes part in the global economy. This includes ending dependency on raw materials exports and investing in domestic value-added production, she added. 'Everything that was brought away from Africa must be returned to the continent,' Lucas said. 'I'm not only speaking about tangible artifacts, [but also] about the policy that would result in our economic independence... We would like to feel as Africans, to work as Africans, to be Africans.' Her remarks follow Mozambique's request in May for the return of around 800 cultural objects held in European museums – including traditional masks, statues, and ritual archives removed by the colonial authorities. The minister of education and culture, Samaria Tovela, said the restitution of these items is crucial to restoring cultural identity. Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975, after a decade-long liberation struggle led by the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique. Like many post-colonial African nations, it has called for reparations and the return of cultural property removed during the colonial era. In June, the Netherlands returned 119 artifacts to Nigeria, including human and animal figures, plaques, royal regalia, and a historic bell. They were looted from the West African country more than a century ago. The African Union has declared 2025 the year of reparations.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Yahoo
72-year-old woman imprisoned for embezzling $700,000 from Holy Cross Church in Vero Beach
VERO BEACH – A 72-year-old woman guilty of embezzling around $700,000 from Holy Cross Catholic Church on July 18 was ordered to prison for a decade followed by 20 years of probation. Deborah Lynn True, a resident of Frederick, Colorado and a former parish administrator at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach, was also ordered to pay the church $697,138.98 in restitution after being released from prison, Circuit Judge Robert Meadows ruled during her sentencing hearing in the Indian River County Courthouse. Standing before Meadows wearing a bright-colored print blouse and slacks, True remained silent as he imposed a sentence negotiated with state prosecutors during a May 1 hearing in which she pleaded no contest to first-degree grand theft. She was accused of misusing church donations over several years to pay off personal debts, records show. The church is at 500 Iris Lane on Orchid Island. The plea deal requires True to pay the restitution in equal monthly installments for the duration of her probation or face being returned to prison, court records show. In sentencing True, Meadows said when she's released from prison, she may not seek to terminate her probation term early and must make monthly restitution payments or face returning to prison. "You will not return to the Holy Cross Catholic Church and you are subject to warrantless searches and seizures of yourself and your property," Meadows told True. "Good luck to you ma'am." After court, Long said the only just sentence for True was a prison term. 'Stealing over $600,000 is bad enough, but taking it from a church and your fellow parishioners is especially egregious,' Long said. 'I thank the (Vero Beach Police Department) for bringing us such a strong case, and I believe the thoroughness of their investigation is why this matter resolved without a trial.' Bank account hidden from Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach True was arrested in September 2022 following a Vero Beach police investigation that began in December 2021 after the chief financial officer of the Diocese of Palm Beach reported True and the late Rev. Richard Murphy were suspected "of embezzling over $1 million in funds,' according to court filings. Murphy was pastor at Holy Cross until he died at age 80 in March 2020. True retired in July 2020 and moved to Jacksonville, then Colorado. An additional church bank account was discovered after a new pastor and bookkeeper were hired, an arrest affidavit stated. According to police investigators, in 2012 True and Murphy opened a bank account hidden from the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, and that nearly $1.5 million of parishioners' donations were fraudulently deposited into the account since 2015. Nearly $550,000 was used to pay True's personal lines of credit, and about $147,000 was deposited into True's personal checking accounts, records show. When police spoke with True via phone, she told investigators she transferred to the church in 1997 with Murphy. They had worked at a Catholic church in Stuart from the mid-1980s until 1997. She said her title at Holy Cross was 'parish administrator' and her job 'included tasks such as scheduling events, human resources, bookkeeping and payroll.' 'She was the only person who would deposit checks received by Holy Cross,' detectives noted. She eventually told investigators she used funds to pay off her personal debt, saying Murphy gave her permission. Police reported Murphy also appeared to benefit from the money, but because of his death a criminal investigation wasn't conducted to identify an amount. In court, after Meadows imposed True's punishment, she was fingerprinted, handcuffed and escorted to a holding cell to be transferred to the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections. Her Vero Beach attorney Andy Metcalf later noted True was "left standing alone to be charged in this case when Father Murphy died and she remains alone now in taking responsibility. " "These cases can result in very favorable outcomes if there is an ability to pay restitution. Ms. True was unable to do so," he said. "I have received letters of anger and disgust and I have received letters of support for her. One of the letters of support even questioning their fellow parishioners' lack of compassion and forgiveness, wondering if Father Murphy was alive, would others in the church have been so harsh in their judgment." (This story was updated with more information and photos.) Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Ex-employee of Holy Cross Church heads to prison for embezzling $700K Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
17-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Kansas City Chiefs' Rashee Rice sentenced to 30 days in jail, 5 years probation for multi-car crash on US-75 in Dallas
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation for a Dallas car crash. According to a statement from the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, Rice pleaded guilty on Wednesday to collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. In addition to his sentence, Rice will pay $115,481.92 for restitution. "There have been a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole," Rice said in a statement. "I urge everyone to mind the speed limit, drive safe and drive smart. Last and certainly not least, I am profoundly sorry for the physical damages to person and property. I fully apologize for the harm I caused to innocent drivers and their families." Rice is one of two people charged in connection to the crash that happened on US-75 in Dallas last March. Since the crash, three lawsuits have been filed by victims. It wasn't made clear when Rice will turn himself into jail. The Chiefs begin training camp on July 22. Theodore "Teddy" Knox, who was a student-athlete on Southern Methodist University's football team, was driving a Corvette and Rice was in a Lamborghini on March 30, 2024. Both were speeding in the far-left lane of North Central Expressway near University Boulevard when the Lamborghini hit the center median wall, officials said, which caused four other vehicles to collide with each other. Rice's arrest affidavit, obtained by CBS News Texas, stated he was driving at a rate of 119 mph before crashing. Knox was driving at a rate of 91 mph prior to the crash. The posted speed limit on US 75 is 70 mph. Days after the crash, Rice issued a statement taking responsibility for his part in the crash, posting to his story on Instagram, "Today I met with Dallas PD investigators regarding Saturday's accident. I take full responsibility for my part in this matter and will continue to cooperate with the necessary authorities. I sincerely apologize to everyone impacted in Saturday's accident."
