Swiss parcel bomber had links to military and intelligence services

Keystone / Martial Trezzini

The 61-year-old man who admitted to being Patek Philippe's blackmailer in Geneva had connections in the police and the army. A weapons enthusiast, this war photographer also claims to be close to the intelligence community. Testimonies collected by Swiss public broadcaster RTS attest to some disturbing elements.

The parcel bombs that injured two people and the ransom letters sent in recent months to watchmaker Patek Philippe in Geneva in particular were not the work of a marginalised individual, isolated from society. The main accused, arrested last month, was, on the contrary, a man extremely well-connected to the state security apparatus, the RTS investigative unit has learned.

A war photographer and kung fu instructor, this 61-year-old Swiss man has built an extensive network in the security community. He rubbed shoulders with police officers. He frequented the military. And he claims a connection to intelligence services — all institutions that are supposed to ensure the country’s security.

RTS was able to speak to about fifteen people who knew this man, described as hot-headed and image-conscious. All confirmed the very close ties he had to these circles. The man, who had been wanted for months in Geneva and who finally admitted to the facts, was, in a way, on the sidelines of the investigators.

Passion for shooting

The suspect had many acquaintances within the police force, with whom he shared his passion for shooting in particular. A firearms enthusiast, he owned several of them, all seized during the search of his dojo last month. He frequented several shooting ranges and parade grounds in French-speaking Switzerland.

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The bomber often went there with police friends. The man wasn’t content with target shooting: he was also adept at tactical shooting, which he learned, notably alongside a police officer, according to cross-checked sources. But surprisingly, his name remains largely unknown to those familiar with the scene. And he doesn’t appear to have belonged to any particular shooting club. This discretion contrasts with the overt publicity surrounding his other activities, photography and martial arts.

Protests against the G8

His police connections go back a long way. More than twenty years ago, in 2003, the suspect claimed to have provided information to law enforcement during the violent protests in Geneva against the G8 summit in Evian.

Riding his motorcycle, the man paced the procession, having taken care to remove his license plate beforehand. These statements cannot be verified, but they fit well with the man and his network. “When he needed information, he always managed to find it. He had a lot of contacts,” confirms an old acquaintance.

A few years ago, the Geneva police leadership invited him to share his experience as a war reporter. This took place at the Vernets barracks during the annual report of the cantonal police leadership. When contacted, the police indicated that they do not comment on individual cases.

Swiss Military Review

The author of the parcel bombs was also in close contact with members of the Swiss army. The sixty-year-old, for example, collaborated with the Swiss Military Review, the French-language press organ of the Swiss Officers’ Society.

He wrote several articles, as confirmed by editor-in-chief Alexandre Vautravers, and even several front page articles. Contacted by RTS, the latter specified that the suspect wrote, among other things, a series of reports, accompanied by photographs, of his stays in Syria and Ukraine.

The suspect also covered Swiss army operations there, such as the LUX 23 exercise two years ago, which involved nearly 4,000 soldiers.

Role in a military affair

The man also appears in an old military case. About ten years ago, a high-ranking Swiss army officer was accused, along with others, of misappropriating military infrastructure and stealing ammunition during private shooting lessons. He and his co-defendants were ultimately acquitted on appeal.

According to RTS reports, the Patek Philippe blackmailer acted as an intermediary in this case on behalf of elements of the army, scandalised by the high-ranking officer’s practices. In this capacity, he handed over a confidential military document to former journalist Bernard Genier, to whom he introduced a shadowy figure describing himself as an army major. All this at the end of an incredible treasure hunt between Geneva and Morges in canton Vaud via Saint-Maurice in canton Valais.

“The suspect gave me a phone and various documents in an envelope,” Genier recalls. “He guided me via text messages. This went on all day. Once night fell, he asked me to stop at a motorway service station, where he emerged from the bushes wearing a hood and infrared goggles. I knew it was him. He then drove me to his contact after maneuvering to thwart any possible surveillance.”

“It was surreal, but it showed that he had a relationship of trust with important elements of the army,” the journalist added.

Links to intelligence services

The Geneva bomber’s war expertise has also attracted the interest of the secret services, according to his statements. The man claims to have a connection with them. So much so that, in the past, he didn’t hesitate to mention the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) as a point of contact in the event of a problem on the ground abroad.

The various sources interviewed by RTS almost all heard the same legend surrounding the character: the individual is said to be a regular informant of the FIS, and has been for years. Contacted, Swiss intelligence neither confirms nor denies these elements.

Strategic destinations

This somewhat crazy scenario isn’t so far-fetched after all, in the eyes of many. Firstly, because there are precedents. In France, the senior reporter Roger Auque was an agent of French and Israeli intelligence. Also, because it’s fairly common for secret services to approach and interview those who go into sensitive areas, according to concordant security sources.

The locations where the letter bomber reported from may have been of interest to the intelligence services. Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Western Kurdistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, North Korea: all strategic destinations where it is important to gather information, particularly in the fight against terrorism or the proliferation of unconventional weapons. “He went where the fire was, he went to the front lines, unlike other journalists. He saw extremely harsh things,” recalls a former friend, contacted by RTS.

His knowledge of the terrain and certain factions was recognised and even sought after, particularly in academic circles. The University of Geneva (UNIGE) hired his services in 2019. The defendant spoke as part of a master’s program in global security and conflict resolution. This course is intended primarily for military personnel and security executives. “As an external speaker, he addressed the topic of media in conflict zones and was reimbursed CHF225,” explains Luana Nasca, press assistant at UNIGE.

Chemical weapons in Spiez

In the field, the suspect took photographs. But not only that. Several sources can attest to the character’s particular practices. Practices quite far removed from those of a simple war reporter. Including upon his return to Switzerland.

In 2022, two years before the Geneva parcel bombing incident, our individual traveled to Iraq for a reportage. Upon his return, he confided to a friend that he had been “debriefed” in Spiez in canton Bern by the FIS to discuss chemical weapons.

Spiez, however, is the headquarters of the federal institute responsible for protection against nuclear, biological, and chemical events. Another trip, this time to North Korea, was also reportedly organised for intelligence purposes.

Foreign embassy

Another anecdote raises questions about the suspect’s possible ties to foreign services this time. The year is 2020 in Nagorno-Karabakh. A conflict then erupts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which claims territorial control of this province, a source of tension between the two countries since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Reporting from the capital, Stepanakert, the war photographer confided to a source close to Armenian nationalist movements that he had “collected debris from drones used by the Azeri army and brought it to a foreign embassy in Yerevan, Armenia.” His ties to the secret service have raised eyebrows within the profession.

“He was a professional recognised by his peers, but who apparently rubbed shoulders with people from the intelligence world in the crisis zones where he worked,” confided one of his colleagues.

No comment

His connections in security circles apparently had a downside. Ironically, they apparently aroused the suspicions of those he was also informing. According to a well-informed RTS source, the Geneva police’s Internal Security Brigade had been tracking the bomber for about fifteen years. They believed he was one of the individuals who could pose a threat to state security, along with radicalised individuals, violent activists, or hooligans.

RTS attempted to confront the bomber with all of these elements. When contacted, his lawyer, Camilla Natali, declined to comment. “My client reserves his statements for the prosecution authorities.”

Accused of attempted murder and manufacturing and handling explosives, the 61-year-old Swiss man claims to have acted alone. Currently in detention, he remains presumed innocent.

Intelligence service remains silent

The Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) refused to answer questions from RTS about the suspect’s exact role within the service. “As a matter of principle, the FIS does not comment on individual cases, its operational procedures, and/or its sources,” said its communications manager, Linda von Burg. “This would run counter to the fulfillment of its legally defined mandate and would endanger employees and sources.”

Generally speaking, the FIS explains that a denial in one case “may lead to an implicit confirmation in another. This can have considerable consequences – particularly with regard to human sources – which may even endanger the life and physical integrity of the persons concerned.”

This is why the Swiss secret services can neither confirm nor deny the elements mentioned in this case, and no substantive statement can be drawn from them.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

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