Swiss attorney general takes over suspected RUAG MRO fraud probe
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Swiss attorney general takes over suspected RUAG MRO fraud probe
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has taken over the criminal investigation into the case of alleged fraud at RUAG MRO, a Swiss military technology firm.
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A former RUAG MRO executive is suspected of having sold tank parts causing losses of tens of millions of Swiss francs.
The OAG told the Keystone-ATS news agency on Friday that it had taken over the case from the Office of the Attorney General of canton Bern, confirming a report in the newspapers of the German-language CH-Media group. The office was unable to provide any further information due to the recent resumption of the investigation.
According to a report by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO), a former executive of RUAG MRO in Valais embezzled military equipment over several years with the help of his wife and a German intermediary. Transactions involving Leopard I battle tanks may have resulted in losses of several tens of millions of Swiss francs.
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The suspect allegedly sold spare parts for these tanks to an intermediary at a low price. The investigation by a law firm commissioned by RUAG MRO is not yet complete. The company, which is owned by the Swiss federal government, filed a criminal complaint at the end of last year.
Bern Attorney General Michel-André Fels initially announced that he was in charge of the criminal investigation. Since then, his office appears to have reached an agreement with the OAG to transfer the case, not least because of the scale of the affair. The OAG has not yet given its opinion. However, it reiterates the suspect’s presumption of innocence.
Translated from German with DeepL/sb
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