White-collar crime Defense of former Elvetino CEO pleads for acquittal in Zurich
The defence team of the former CEO of Elvetino criticized the prosecution at the District Court of Zurich on Wednesday: There was no usable evidence, their client was not guilty of anything - he should be acquitted in full.
04.09.2024, 09:00
04.09.2024, 16:03
SDA
This morning, the public prosecutor had spoken of a clear investigation result; the three accused had "brazenly made use of the company's assets". However, the official defense counsel and the requested defense counsel of the former Elvetino boss painted a completely different picture in a plea lasting more than three hours in the afternoon.
Their client was a CEO who had wanted the best for his company, said the defense lawyer. He had not, as the prosecution suggested, simply awarded a contract to an old buddy with a seafaring past. Rather, he had approached a person with the necessary expertise whom he had met in the course of his business activities.
Fee "not out of the ordinary"
Witness testimony would confirm that the external consultant had carried out important work. His fee - the indictment mentions daily rates of CHF 2,500 - was not unusual for a senior consultant in Switzerland.
In addition, the defense lawyer described the available evidence as unusable. The indictment was based on investigations that SBB had carried out internally. To this end, SBB had illegally secured, viewed and evaluated highly personal messages, legal correspondence and medical documents, among other things, without having any competence under criminal law.
Public prosecutor demands 44 months
The public prosecutor is accusing the 68-year-old, who managed SBB's catering company from 2011 until his dismissal without notice in August 2017, of, among other things, mismanagement, embezzlement and fraud. He demanded an unconditional prison sentence of 44 months.
Among other things, he is alleged to have hired an old colleague as an external consultant - and received 20 percent of the fee back as a kick-back payment. He is also alleged to have imported unusable catering products from China via another colleague's company and sold them to Elvetino at inflated prices.
The defense pleas of the three defendants are continuing and will continue on Thursday.
