The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) says it has demanded CHF1.6 million ($1.7 million) from one alleged fraudster and opened a criminal complaint against another.
Federal auditors estimate the state was conned out of CHF20 million over fraudulent invoicing for coronavirus tests.
Auditors also condemned a lack of sufficient controls and noted that only CHF6,000 had been recovered from fake tests by mid-December.
Swiss taxpayers footed a CHF2.7 billion bill for free tests over 2020 and 2021 – a practice that was disbanded at the start of this year.
On Thursday, the FOPH and the Federal Commission for Vaccination issued new guidelines on vaccinations.
From the start of April, vaccine boosters are only recommended for vulnerable people.
The decision has been taken on the grounds that current Covid-19 strains are less virile than previous mutations.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Has your continent reached its peak or is there still potential for economic growth?
Some regions of the world are on an upward trajectory with the promise of a steadily improving future. Where do you live? And in which direction is your region or continent developing?
This content was published on
Flight safety is reduced by the clogging of airspace, says Thomas Steffen, a pilot for Swiss and head of safety at Aeropers, the industry association.
Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann holds first major European exhibition in Thun
This content was published on
Das Kunstmuseum Thun richtet im August die erste grössere Europaausstellung der malaysischen Künstlerin Yee I-Lann aus. Darin werden Einflüsse des Kolonialismus aber auch das Fortbestehen des indigenen Erbes thematisiert.
Data from Swiss health foundation Radix leaked on the dark web
This content was published on
After the cyber attack suffered by the Radix foundation at the end of last month, sensitive personal data such as names and debts of people banned from casinos were published on the Darknet.
This content was published on
Companies with an externally validated net-zero target emit less CO2 than those without a climate target. This is the conclusion of a new analysis by the US financial services provider MSCI.
This content was published on
Swiss companies are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals. In the past quarter, every single company in this country was the target of a cyber attack an average of 1097 times a week.
Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024
This content was published on
End customers experienced an average of 21 minutes of electricity interruption in 2024. This resulted in 0.34 power outages per capita. The duration of electricity interruptions increased by three minutes compared to the previous year.
Swiss citizens will be voting on restricting wind farm expansion
This content was published on
On Friday, the Association for the Protection of Nature and Democracy submitted two initiatives aimed at curbing the expansion of wind farms. More than 110,000 signatures have been collected.
E-bike riders regularly break speed limit in residential areas
This content was published on
Fast e-bikes regularly exceed the speed limit in residential areas. According to a new study with data on cyclists in Zurich, they regularly reach speeds of over 30 km/h.
This content was published on
Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to find staff, a problem made more acute by the increased bargaining power of employees and increased absenteeism.
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.
Read more
More
Federal auditors slam lack of control over Covid test invoices
This content was published on
Swiss auditors find control gaps of free coronavirus testing that contributed to an estimated CHF20 million in fraudulent invoicing.
Man convicted for fraudulently claiming massive Covid loan
This content was published on
A 48-year-old businessman in Geneva has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence for making a fraudulent claim for a Covid loan.
Italian mafia milks Swiss Covid funds for expansion
This content was published on
“We can see that the money allocated to companies as Covid loans very quickly goes abroad,” says Nicoletta della Valle, director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol). “It is the banks that report these observations to us.” To date, Fedpol’s Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) estimates that at least CHF180 million ($199 million) has been stolen from government loans issued to offset the financial damage of the…
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.