Procurement of masks during corona Consultant collects CHF 412,000 fee from the federal government
During the pandemic, a former career officer invoices the federal government for around CHF 412,000. He exceeded the agreed cost ceiling several times. The case raises questions about expenditure control.
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- A former career officer who advised the Department of Defense (DDPS) during the pandemic billed the federal government over CHF 412,000 for his services.
- The consultant's daily rate was CHF 1,800, significantly more than the recently criticized rate of Brigitte Hauser-Süess, advisor to President Viola Amherd.
- Lawyer Loris Fabrizio Mainardi sees this as possible abuse of office and dishonest management by the DDPS. He has filed a complaint against unknown persons with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.
- The DDPS justifies the costly mandates, which exceeded the agreed budget, with the difficult situation at the beginning of the pandemic. Furthermore, it was neither possible to employ the professional officer on a temporary basis nor to have him provide his advice as part of his military service.
A former career officer who worked as a consultant in the Department of Defense during the pandemic has invoiced the federal government for over CHF 400,000. This was for advice in the first year of the corona pandemic. According to research by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, he helped the federal government to procure respiratory masks, among other things.
The consultant has a daily rate of CHF 1,800, which is significantly higher than the fee paid to Federal Council advisor Brigitte Hauser-Süess, who the NZZ recently described as "probably the highest-earning Federal Council advisor in history".
The DDPS pays between 50 and 750 francs per hour for consultancy services, the latter explained to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, with the professional officer being roughly in the middle at 213 francs.
Cost overruns and their consequences
The first mandate of the professional officer exceeds the agreed cost ceiling by 64,900 francs or around 60 percent. Army spokesman Stefan Hofer justifies the higher-than-budgeted remuneration with the volatile situation, which made it impossible to predict the actual costs.
The consultant is then awarded another contract. This time, he and the federal government agreed on a maximum fee of CHF 216,000. However, he did not adhere to this framework either and charged the federal government a further CHF 239,400 - just under 11 percent.
Hofer explains that the consultant took on additional tasks during the course of his mandate. He had to successfully complete these assignments, which he did.
The question arises as to why the DDPS did not employ the former career officer on a temporary basis. Or why it did not call him up for military service like many others during the pandemic.
An appointment would have taken too long due to the necessary procedures, explains Hofer. They would not have been able to call up the specialist for military service either. This is because the DDPS is expressly forbidden from compensating for unauthorized positions with military service personnel.
Lucerne lawyer files charges
Loris Fabrizio Mainardi, a lawyer from Lucerne, takes the opposite view. He has investigated the procurement of respirators by the federal government. The career officer could certainly have been called up for military service in the form of Covid assistance service.
In addition, the DDPS could have employed the man on a temporary basis and paid him in line with the market. The CHF 412,000 he received gave rise to suspicions of abuse of office or dishonest management.
The Lucerne resident has therefore filed a criminal complaint against persons unknown. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has confirmed receipt of the complaint. It is examining it, but will not comment on it.
This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). All content taken from AI is verified by the editorial team.