WEF Founder Schwab Claims He Found Spying Device at His Home
(Bloomberg) — World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab has filed a criminal complaint following the alleged discovery of a secret listening device planted in his home office in Geneva.
The equipment was found after a routine security inspection was conducted at his private home close to the WEF premises, according to an emailed statement from a spokesperson for Schwab. The complaint was filed with the Geneva prosecutor’s office against persons unknown.
An initial assessment suggested that the device has been installed within the last three years, the statement reads. An investigation is now underway with the goal to identify the people “responsible for its installation,” according to the statement.
“The matter is especially sensitive given the significant public interest surrounding him during the period in question,” it said. “At this stage, no conclusions are being drawn regarding the origin of the device or potential responsibility.”
The accusation adds another twist to Klaus Schwab’s high-profile departure and spat with the institution he founded. Schwab left the WEF amid accusations of financial misconduct and a clash with the remaining leadership. He was eventually cleared, but only after a months-long investigation that hung over the organization, which runs the high-profile Davos event in the Swiss Alps.
Following Schwab’s departure, the WEF appointed BlackRock Inc’s chief executive officer Larry Fink and Roche-heir Andre Hoffmann as co-chairs. Meanwhile the founder has pushed to keep some influence over the organization, reaching out to Switzerland’s foundations watchdog for clarification on what degree he could still have a say over the future of the WEF.
Speculations about the future of the WEF has also centered on the notion that the event could move from its longstanding home in Davos, a theory dismissed by Hoffmann in January.
Schwab, born in Germany to parents of Swiss origin, chose Davos in a bid to make guests feel relaxed and speak freely. With a slogan of “committed to improving the state of the world,” the forum attracts global attention and criticism, as well as a helping of conspiracy theories.
Earlier this year, WEF chief Borge Brende also stepped down from his position after it emerged he had ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
(Updates with details of WEF leadership starting from sixth paragraph)
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