Switzerland - Two men charged with money laundering Funds and gold worth millions moved across borders.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has filed an indictment with the Federal Criminal Court against two Swiss nationals for qualified money laundering.

1. The OAG accuses the two men of having moved assets acquired by criminal means – namely EUR 34 million, CHF 1 million and around 830 kilograms of gold – across borders for at least four years as part of an internationally operating criminal network in breach of applicable declaration obligations.
2. As the accused have confessed, they will be tried in accelerated proceedings.
3. In June 2023, the two accused were arrested in a joint operation with the Italian authorities.
4. The operation targeted a criminal network allegedly involved in the smuggling of gold and other valuable goods and money laundering activities.
5. A total of ten suspected members of the network were arrested during the operation.
6. The OAG accuses the two men, aged 56 and 63, of having accepted assets of criminal origin—in particular cash—in Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany between spring 2019 and June 2023 from persons unknown to them and of having subsequently moved these assets into Switzerland.
7. According to the indictment, the accused transported the money in specially constructed hiding places in their vehicles. Primarily in Italy, they subsequently exchanged the money collected for gold, taking it to Switzerland without declaring it.
8. According to the indictment, the 63-year-old accused carried out most of the trips on behalf of his younger partner. After a stopover at the 56-year-old accused's companies in Switzerland, the assets were again moved across borders by the two accused by plane, namely to Istanbul or Dubai, or by car and lorry to Germany and Turkey.

Proceeds from international trafficking in narcotic drugs

1. According to the OAG's indictment, the assets moved across borders in the present case are the proceeds of organised international narcotics smuggling activities and large-scale trafficking in narcotic drugs in Europe.
2. The two accused were aware of this or at least suspected it, therefore knowingly accepting the ramifications. With their smuggling activities, the two men deprived the state of cash totalling around EUR 34 million, CHF 1 million and gold amounting to around 830 kilograms.
3. They made a profit of around CHF 500,000 and are guilty of qualified money laundering (Art. 305bis para. 1 in conjunction with para. 2 Swiss Criminal Code).
4. The 63-year-old accused was remanded in custody from his arrest in June 2023 until the beginning of November 2023, his younger accomplice from his arrest in June 2023 until the end of September 2024.
5. Both accused have confessed, which is why they are being tried in accelerated proceedings (see information below).

Accelerated proceedings (Art. 358 et seq. Criminal Procedure Code):

1. If certain conditions are met, proceedings can be expedited in an accelerated procedure. The accused must confess in all material respects and recognise the civil claims, if only in principle.
2. The confessed facts form the basis of the indictment, which the accused and the aggrieved party must agree to before it is submitted to the court of first instance in the form of a proposed judgment.
3. The court can decide whether the accelerated proceedings are lawful and appropriate, whether the indictment is consistent with the outcome of the main hearing and the files, and whether the requested sanctions are appropriate.
4. If the court considers the requirements for a judgment as part of accelerated proceedings to be met, it will render a judgment on the criminal offences, sanctions and civil claims contained in the indictment. Otherwise, it will return the files to the public prosecutor's office for ordinary proceedings.

Bern, 07.11.2024 - Original text of the press release in German – English translation is here - https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/seco/nsb-news.msg-id-103060.html