The Federal Prosecutor identified in a snail's pace

The law enforcement officers of the Federal government not get rid of your ancient cases. Although Federal Prosecutor Michael Lauber acknowledges the ancient and major criminal cases a high priority, as he has repeatedly emphasized. But there are still 27 cases that were opened, before he took office. Lauber is since the beginning of 2012 the Federal lawyer.

A typical such dinosaur-determination revolves around the bankrupt Lucerne machinery trading company Fera and its parent company, Blue Steel Holding. From the media, the matter is long gone, but it is one the largest alleged Swiss Scam cases at all, and thus a lot of money. For over 3000 days is determined. Actually, the thing would have to come soon before the court. But now there is a shock. The Federal criminal court has accepted the indictment of the Federal advocacy (BA) recently.

back in 2010, had become an economic Disaster known. The Zurich Skandifinanz Bank defendant in a damage of around 200 million Swiss francs and had to stop their banking activity. Her error: she had given the Fera or Blue Steel to a lot of confidence. Skandifinanz had done the Luzernern pre-financing for the Export of machinery. As the pre-funded amounts for the forging presses were suddenly not paid back, the Bank that many of the export transactions were fictitious and never had taken place.

Fake orders

Criminal law the matter was not too complex: The order confirmations were bogus and served only to elicit the Bank's extensive Vorfinanzierugen, so the accusation. Skandifinanz and three more banks, including the Bern Valiant Bank, submitted at the beginning of 2010 a criminal complaint for fraud. The amount of damages quantified in the four banks on a total of 236 million francs.

Now, nearly nine years later, wanted to complete the BA case finally, and before the court. However, the Federal criminal court in Bellinzona rejected the indictment due to serious deficiencies. Now, the BA needs to improve.

From a decision of the court of 6. December go your error. In the indictment, and the details at the time of the individual Actions is missing, therefore, to a large extent or even completely. The information was "by law" to instruct lawyers, judges and the Federal. "By the clear boundary of the process object and the mediation of the for the defense the necessary information to the person Concerned a fair trial should be guaranteed."

The lack of time information are all the more problematic, as the period of the alleged acts of 2002 to 2010 is enough. The offences of fraud and forgery of documents expire, but after 15 years. So what can be now be prosecuted, and where a punishment is already excluded?

Accused

the Federal government criticized the court that the indictment was incomplete – despite its stately size of about 140 pages. Because with regard to the Details of the individual defendant's operations, the indictment references to files notes. Thus, the facts of the case will be extended in a non-permissible manner.

Originally, the BA determined against the company in Lucerne, and six people, including former members of the Board of the Fera and their owner as well as a former Skandifinanz-Banker. The now-dismissed indictment, but only against a former General Manager of the Liquidation of the Fera, which has been referred to in the BA itself, as "office supervisor".

According to an earlier decision of the Federal criminal court the woman has confirmations of the transactions, the obtaining of pre-financing with a forged order, "expressly denied". But in agreement, of the note transactions involved or to have known that.

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The defenders of the accused does not have a good word about the work of the BA. "The Federal investigators have taken this method first for many years, and now it turns out that you have worked with in the beginning is wrong," says the lawyer. His client will accused of the formerly Mitbeschuldigten instigated. "But how to do that, if the proceedings against the others now?"

A spokeswoman for the BA justified by the long duration of proceedings with "extensive and complex investigation In the country and abroad and the analysis of a large amount of data and the questioning of numerous people". To reach an indictment, it took the BA support from the outside. Beginning in 2016, they transferred the case to an exceptional Prosecutor. This step had become because of the "former situation of the Resources" is necessary, says the spokeswoman. To take the now by the Federal criminal court complained of defects in the indictment, you have no position.

cases from the zero years

The case sheds light on one of the biggest problems of the criminal investigators of the Federal government: Many of its methods take a very long time, Statute of limitations threatens here and there. For Accused and Victims, the methods remain for years a burden.

Numbers, which are the BA on request, for the first time, show the true extent of their Legacy. Still, there are seven cases in which it is already in the zero years, was determined. The prominent money-laundering case against the German Financier Florian Homm, which has been running since 2009.

The mountain of Outstanding cases, the BA is increasing steadily: by the end of 2013, 109 of the criminal cases were older than 2 years. By the end of 2017, there were already 234. This is about every other pending proceedings.

About the contents of the Ancient method, are, for the most part known for the silence of the BA. Often it comes to economic crimes. This is from a response by the authority on the question is close, which is why the process take so long: "The office of the attorney General worked (...) a comprehensive set of procedures for complex international financial flows. The global interconnectedness of such techniques requires appropriate international co-operation in the Form of extensive legal assistance in the most sensitive political environment", writes the BA spokeswoman. In addition to the complexity of the cases, the removed party, led last rights to longer Procedures.

In the Old case, Fera/Blue Steel is, the BA is now your turn to add to the indictment. Prognosis it makes no.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 17.12.2018, 20:14 PM