Penalty notices on the Postbus subsidy affair are contested
Published: Monday, May 13th 2024, 11:21
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The PostBus subsidy fraud affair has not yet been legally resolved. Seven accused executives from PostBus and Swiss Post are defending themselves against the penalties imposed by the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), which has now issued penalty orders that are not yet legally binding. This is because the accused can demand a judicial assessment of their case.
Five members of the former management of PostBus Switzerland are accused of multiple service fraud, as Fedpol writes on the Internet. One member of the former Swiss Post Group management and one member of the Board of Directors are also accused of failing to prevent the benefit fraud. Fedpol did not name names.
The penalty orders involve conditional fines of between 56,000 and 420,000 Swiss francs as well as unconditional fines of between 12,000 and 60,000 Swiss francs, as Fedpol writes on its website. According to the Federal Office's assessment, the conditions for custodial sentences are not met.
The persons concerned may appeal against the penalty orders and request a judicial assessment. If they do so, the files will be handed over to the cantonal public prosecutor's office for the attention of the competent criminal court. The criminal court will then be responsible for the further proceedings. Fedpol will then no longer act as the authority conducting the proceedings, but as a party.
In February 2018, the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) made illegal booking tricks at PostBus public. According to the report, PostBus Switzerland had systematically concealed profits in regional passenger transport since 2007 through illegal rebookings, thereby defrauding the public of subsidies.
Swiss Post paid back the entire amount of 205.3 million francs to the federal government, cantons and municipalities. In June 2018, the Board of Directors of Swiss Post decided to dismiss the entire management of PostBus due to a lack of trust. The then CEO of Swiss Post, Susanne Ruoff, submitted her resignation.
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