Crans-Montana fire: prosecutors set bail at CHF200,000 for each bar owner

On January 12, a Swiss court approved three months’ pre-trial detention for Jacques Moretti, the co-owner of the Crans-Montana bar where the New Year’s Eve fire killed 40 people, citing a risk he might flee. His wife Jessica will not be held in custody. Instead, she will face alternative measures, including a ban on leaving Switzerland. Keystone-SDA

The Office of the Attorney General of canton Valais has set bail at CHF200,000 ($249,000) for each of the bar owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, who are under investigation for the deadly fire in Crans-Montana, according to reports.

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It is now up to the Court of Coercive Measures (CTM) to rule on the matter and determine the exact amount. The couple’s lawyers are hoping for a decision as soon as possible.

The lawyers confirmed to the Keystone-ATS news agency on Friday an earlier report by Swiss public television RTS and Tribune de Genève/24 heures. Jacques Moretti – owner of the Le Constellation bar, where 40 people died and 116 were seriously injured in a fire on New Year’s Eve – has been remanded in custody. His wife Jessica, who also ran the bar, is not being held.

But on Tuesday, the court decided to impose alternative measures on Jessica Moretti, thus granting a request by the public prosecutor’s office. These consist of a ban on leaving Switzerland, an obligation to deposit all identity and residence documents with the attorney general’s office, including those of her children, and an obligation to report daily to a police station.

Since the setting of bail requires a meticulous investigation, the bail amount will be determined at a later stage, the TMC said. It added that, since the public prosecutor’s office had not requested pre-trial detention, such a coercive measure could not be ordered.

As for Jacques Moretti, the CTM had ordered that he be remanded in custody for an initial period of three months, due to the existence of a flight risk. He has been in custody for a week, following questioning by prosecutors.

The CTM has not yet ruled on other measures in case the custody is revoked. According to the couple’s lawyers, the attorney general’s office has demanded the seizure of his identity documents, the obligation to report to the police station every three days, the use of an electronic bracelet, and the posting of a bail of CHF200,000.

“Taking into account the fact that the defendant currently has no income, that he and his wife own real estate encumbered by mortgages and seized by the courts, the amount of CHF200,000 seems appropriate,” prosecutors wrote in their request, according to the couple’s lawyers. “In short, they no longer have any income and their assets are frozen.”

Adapted from Italian by AI/sb

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