الثلاثاء, يونيو 7th 2022
Swiss prices continues to rise, Switzerland sends more money to war-torn Ukraine, and more in our roundup of Swiss news from June 3 – 7.
UEFA President Michel Platini (R) congratulates FIFA President Sepp Blatter after he was re-elected at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich.
Switzerland tries former FIFA execs
Former European football chiefs Sepp Blatter, 86, and Michel Platini, 66, will stand trial this week in Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court over an alleged fraudulent two million Swiss franc payment to Platini in 2011. The indictment – which was filed by the Attorney General of Switzerland after a six-year investigation – shook the work of European football. According to court documents, the pair “submitted to FIFA in 2011 an allegedly fictitious invoice for a (alleged) debt still existing for his activity as an adviser for FIFA in the years 1998 to 2002.” They are accused of having illegally obtained the payment, fraud and document forgery. The trial will begin Wednesday and last through June 22. A verdict is expected on July 8. The defendants face up to five years’ imprisonment and/or fines. اقرأ المزيد.
Inflation on the rise in Switzerland
Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week announced that inflation has pushed prices another 2.9% higher in the last year, and nearly 1% in just the last month. Inflation in Switzerland is currently running at its highest annual rate since 1993. The biggest drivers of the trend are the prices of gasoline, diesel, petrol, and heating oil – thanks to shortages of raw materials from the Russo-Ukrainian war. Some food items are seeing surges, such as wheat for pasta (up 12%) and bread (up 2%). Shockingly, the cost of air travel has increased by 58%. That said, experts report that a rising Swiss franc has helped to stabilize and even reduce inflation in the rest of Europe. اقرأ المزيد.
Hiding your money? Don’t use Switzerland
Switzerland sending more aid to Ukraine
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will provide roughly 85 million CHF for various projects in Ukraine, including health care, peace-building, economic development and other humanitarian aid projects. Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year, SDC had already earmarked 25 million CHF for the country. In recent months, SDC has been able to add another 61 million CHF thanks to contributions from the World Bank, Swiss migration authorities and other local groups. The contributions also mean that SDC will not be forced to choose between the projects in Ukraine and those in other parts of the world, such as food shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to SDC director Patricia Danzi. The Swiss government is already providing 80 million in Swiss francs for humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as hosting a Ukraine Recovery conference in July. اقرأ المزيد.
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