The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Switzerland to return $266 million in illegal commissions to Taiwan

ship
The frigates were sold by France to Taiwan at an inflated price. Ap / Lee Chuan-shen

The money, worth CHF240 million, is part of illicit kickbacks on the sale of six French-made Lafayette warships to Taiwan in 1991. 

The decision of the Taiwanese Supreme Court at the end of 2019 confirming the illegal origin of the funds held in Swiss bank accounts has paved the way for restitution of the second tranche of $266 million.  

This is likely to be the last restitution by the Swiss in this corruption case. “It could not be proven that the other frozen funds were derived from corruption, so the sequestration of these assets will be lifted,” the Federal Office of Justice said in a statement on Thursday. 

Long battle 

It is alleged that the French former state-owned firm Elf Aquitaine, used bribes – which ended up in Swiss bank accounts – to persuade French and Taiwanese authorities to approve the sale of the frigates. These were sold via another French firm, Thomson-CSF (now Thales), in a deal that was worth an estimated $2.5 billion.  

In 2001 Taiwan submitted a request for legal assistance to Switzerland in connection with the suspected kickbacks. The Alpine nation froze assets of almost $900 million and handed over numerous documents concerning blocked bank accounts to Taiwan in 2005. 

In 2007 Switzerland, with the agreement of the account holders, returned a first tranche of $34 million to the Taiwanese authorities. 

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Heavy crowds expected at Swiss airports

More

Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer

This content was published on Switzerland's main airports are preparing for a busy summer holiday period. A number of changes have been introduced to improve passenger flows that are expected to be well above average in July and August.

Read more: Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer
Beznau power plant restarted after the Aare River cools down

More

Swiss nuclear power plant restarts as Aare River cools down

This content was published on The Beznau nuclear power station in canton Aargau has been generating electricity again since Tuesday, as the Aare River has cooled down. Both reactors had been disconnected last week.

Read more: Swiss nuclear power plant restarts as Aare River cools down
The ICRC has to cut its budget for next year by 17 per cent

More

Red Cross faces 17% budget cut

This content was published on The International Committee of the Red Cross must cut its budget by 17% by the end of the year.

Read more: Red Cross faces 17% budget cut

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR