Swiss customs officers have uncovered a multi-million-franc gold smuggling operation between Italy and Switzerland. A 65-year-old Italian man is accused of smuggling and selling the precious metal in the Alpine country.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Français
fr
Démantèlement d’un trafic d’or vers la Suisse à plusieurs millions
Original
The Federal Office of Customs and Border Security, in collaboration with the German, Italian and Liechtenstein authorities, successfully dismantled the smuggling organisation, the office wrote on Thursday. Around CHF25 million in royalties were diverted from the Swiss government’s coffers, it said.
More
More
Gold-digging: why some Swiss bury their wealth in the garden
This content was published on
The Swiss sometimes keep their gold in surprising places.
The gold was purchased in Italy, circumventing Italian regulations on the trade in precious metals and tax provisions. With the help of accomplices, the defendant organised the import and sale of approximately seven tonnes of gold, in the form of sheets, ingots, jewellery and coins.
Between 2016 and 2021, the gold was illegally imported into Switzerland, hidden on board vehicles, for example in the dashboard, fuel tank or seat. It was then resold in Switzerland.
More
More
The shady origins of gold refined in Switzerland
This content was published on
Most of the gold in the world passes through Switzerland. This is a business worth CHF70-CHF90 billion depending on the year.
The Swiss office has filed a legal complaint with the Ticino cantonal criminal court against a 65-year-old Italian man who led the operation. He is charged with aggravated fraud in the area of contributions, aggravated tax evasion (VAT), aggravated customs offences and non-compliance with the law on the control of precious metals.
In the indictment, the office proposed a suspended sentence of three years and a fine of at least CHF500,000 francs. A ban on entering Switzerland for at least ten years was also requested. The presumption of innocence prevails until a final judgment is handed down.
More
More
The mystery of Switzerland’s surging imports of Uzbek and Kazakh gold
This content was published on
Switzerland’s imports of gold originating in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have boomed since Russia attacked Ukraine. Trade data and expert analyses suggest some could be surreptitiously coming from Russia in violation of sanctions.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
The Böögg, Switzerland’s exploding psychic snowman
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
Basel prepares 700 volunteers for the Eurovision Song Contest
This content was published on
Around 320 people took part in one of the two official information events for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Basel on Friday.
More Swiss soldiers involved in accidents during training in Austria
This content was published on
The Swiss army has reported various accidents involving Swiss soldiers during the exercise “TRIAS 25” in Austria. Some have led to hospitalisations.
Swiss court rules vegan meat substitutes can’t use animal names
This content was published on
Vegan meat substitutes may not bear animal names such as “planted.chicken” according to a ruling by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
Swiss cantons spared duty to create new traveller transit sites
This content was published on
Swiss cantons will no longer be formally obliged by the government to create new transit sites for the travelling community.
Swiss politicians bemoan limited access to EU treaty details
This content was published on
Protests that only a few Swiss parliamentarians will be able to read the contents of a new agreement negotiated with the EU.
This content was published on
For the first time, most Swiss residents favour withdrawing their pension pot as a lump-sum over regular annuity payments.
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.