Sunday, September 22, 2024
Published: Sunday, Sep 22nd 2024, 05:10
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Amherd's knowledge of corruption allegations, a secret CS investigation by Finma and the cantons' resistance to the federal government's austerity package: This and more can be found in the Sunday newspapers. The headlines in unverified reports:
"SonntagsBlick":
Defense Minister Viola Amherd was already aware of corruption allegations against a former Ruag employee in 2019. A whistleblower criticized, among other things, that ten transmissions of the Leopard 2 main battle tank had been sold "well below market price level" to a "dubious German scrap dealer", as "SonntagsBlick" discovered in a letter. The letter was sent to Amherd and the Ruag Board of Directors. There is nothing to suggest that the employee and his superior were slowed down or controlled between 2019 and 2022, the newspaper wrote. According to the newspaper, the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) and the armaments company Ruag did not wish to comment on how they reacted to the allegations.
"SonntagsZeitung":
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has launched a secret investigation into the failed crisis management at Credit Suisse. A corresponding ruling dated September 25, 2023 was made available to the SonntagsZeitung. Around a dozen former managers of the former major bank, including former Chairman Axel Lehmann and ex-CEO Ulrich Körner, have already been questioned. The investigation is apparently not directed against individual persons. Among other things, questions are being asked about liquidity, equity capital and the role of the auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Finma also wants to find out whether CS or the Federal Council misled the public. According to the newspaper, FINMA and UBS did not wish to comment.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
Shifting costs from the federal government to the cantons is unacceptable, according to the top finance director. There are painful measures on the table, said Ernst Stocker in an interview with "NZZ am Sonntag" on the federal government's cost-cutting plans. "The theory that the cantons are doing very well and that they have too much money is simply not tenable," continued the Zurich SVP government councillor and President of the Conference of Finance Directors. He resolutely opposed the proposal that the cantons should contribute to the increased army expenditure. "If one task is the responsibility of the federal government, then it is the army," said Stocker. The background to this is the Federal Council's cost-cutting plans, which aim to save CHF 3.6 billion a year from 2027 and as much as CHF 4.6 billion from 2030.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
Confidential emails have revealed Switzerland's turbulent withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. People with a connection to Switzerland had difficulty leaving the country, as the NZZ am Sonntag wrote based on the emails. The data comes from research by ZDF investigative journalists. One day before the departure from Kabul, Germany had informed itself about the Swiss evacuation plan. The employees of the Swiss office wanted to complete their work - burning thousands of documents and packing sensitive material - and drive to their German colleagues in the evening. But then they had to leave the city in a hurry. The newspaper wrote that Switzerland was completely reliant on the help of others, especially Germany, to leave the country.
"SonntagsBlick":
The Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Charles Morerod, has suspended a priest in the canton of Vaud following new allegations of abuse. In spring, a criminal complaint was filed against a priest working in the canton of Vaud, as the Vaud public prosecutor's office informed "SonntagsBlick". A police investigation is currently underway. At the beginning of 2020, allegations against the priest were made public that he had abused a minor. The public prosecutor's office discontinued proceedings against him. Morerord transferred him to the canton of Vaud. An internal church criminal investigation is currently underway into whether Morerod ignored the allegations from 2019.
"SonntagsZeitung":
The canton of Uri has awarded two major contracts to a local company without inviting tenders. Although the canton put a third contract out to tender, it rejected the cheaper bidder, as the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reported. It is said to have been clear from the outset that the contract would once again go to the company from Uri. This cost taxpayers millions. According to the newspaper, the three contracts had a total value of CHF 71 million. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Urnersee submitted a supervisory complaint against the government to the cantonal parliament. Now the cantonal supreme court and possibly later the federal court will have to decide whether the canton has violated public procurement law.
"SonntagsZeitung":
Despite its tarnished reputation, the strategy consulting firm McKinsey has gained influence worldwide and also in Switzerland. In this country, it has advised UBS, SBB, Swisscom, Swiss Post, Novartis, Roche and the Federal Office of Public Health, among others, according to the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. The firm came under criticism in Switzerland during the downfall of Swissair, Credit Suisse and the downsizing of Migros. Michael Steinman, head of McKinsey Switzerland, responded to the criticism by saying that the company was driving up profits with job-cutting programs and had no regard for social standards; the company's aim was to sustainably increase the competitiveness of companies. According to the newspaper, several hundred former McKinsey employees now sit at the central levers of the Swiss economy.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
The Swiss drummer and music producer Roland "Roli" Mosimann has died at the age of 68 in Wroclaw, Poland. Born in Thurgau, he made the Fribourg rock band Young Gods famous, as the "NZZ am Sonntag" wrote. Mosimann established himself in New York in the 1980s. As a drummer, he became known as the loudest drummer in the world, the newspaper wrote. With the advent of digital technologies, he changed roles and became a producer. "He read manuals like others shuffle card games," drummer Jojo Mayer told the newspaper. In New York, Mosimann shared a rehearsal room with Madonna. In the studio, Marilyn Manson, Björk and the Sugercubes, among others, wanted to work with him.
"SonntagsBlick":
Football's world governing body, FIFA, pays its president Gianni Infantino just under CHF 8,000 a month for an apartment in Zug. Infantino has been living in the apartment with four and a half rooms and a view of the lake on a temporary basis since April 2022, as SonntagsBlick wrote. The newspaper was provided with the corresponding contract signed by the association's head of HR and senior lawyer. The apartment corresponds to the "standard remuneration package of high-ranking executives of many organizations in Switzerland", a FIFA spokesperson said. According to the newspaper, Infantino received a salary of CHF 4.13 million last year.
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