Former Swiss official loses appeal over Russia bear hunt trip
A former Russia specialist with the federal police, accused of accepting benefits during a bear hunting trip to Russia, has had his appeal rejected.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keysonte-SDA/swissinfo.ch/ilj
The appeals chamber of the Swiss Federal Criminal Court on Friday confirmed the original judgement that the former police official had accepted benefits on the excursion.
The 60-year-old took part in the trip in August 2016, accepting an invitation from the then deputy Russian federal prosecutor, with whom he was said to have “friendly contact” due to his frequent trips to Russia.
But the Bellinzona court decided against any form of extra punishment, saying that the man did not have to settle any more claims, as this had not been foreseen by the lower court. It also said there would be no criminal record entry, to help the man find employment (as he is over 55 and has not found a job since he lost his previous post).
Criticism
The news comes after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny criticised the Swiss Attorney General’s Office (OAG) for having ‘too close contact’ with the Russian Prosecutor General’s office in a newspaper interview last weekend.
One of the examples he cited was that of the former Russia specialist. He also took aim at Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber.
The hunting case started in February 2017 when the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) opened a criminal investigation against the official. The charges of usurpation, abuse of office and corruption were later dropped due to lack of evidence. Only the repeated acceptance of benefits remained.
In the original judgement, the Federal Criminal Court ordered the former police agent to settle a compensation claim of CHF5,000 ($5,000) and received a 60-day suspended fine of CHF150.
The man’s defence centred on arguments that the attentions he accepted did not exceed the usual standard when working with the Russian justice system.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
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.
Read more
More
Swiss federal official guilty of accepting benefits on bear hunt
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court has found a former Russia specialist guilty of accepting benefits during a bear hunting trip to Russia.
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.