Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland: Annual Report 2019
Bern, 16.04.2020 - As its annual report for 2019 shows, cooperation between the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) and its national and international partners is becoming increasingly important. A strong network is essential for combating modern forms of crime effectively.
At the end of 2019, the OAG had a total of 395 (previous year: 407) ongoing criminal investigations and 501 (456) ongoing preliminary clarifications. In the report year, the OAG filed in the Federal Criminal Court (FCC) 17 (10) indictments, 7 (1) indictments in accelerated proceedings and 23 (13) summary penalty orders as indictments in ordinary proceedings; it also issued a further 228 (170) summary penalty orders. In addition, in 2019 the OAG and the FCC issued orders in respect of forfeitures of assets / compensation claims amounting to CHF 324 (791) million.
In this era of cross-border business activities and money transfers, almost all OAG cases have an international dimension; as a result, the number of international requests for mutual assistance that have to be processed is steadily increasing. As of the end of 2019, a total of 317 (313) mutual assistance cases were ongoing. In 2019, 248 (223) requests for mutual assistance were executed and 244 (233) new requests for mutual assistance were accepted.
Cases of public interest
At the end of 2019, the OAG had more than 700 ongoing criminal investigations and mutual assistance proceedings. The most complex and extensive cases, and those that generated the greatest public interest in the report year were once again the investigations relating to Petrobras-Odebrecht, 1MDB and football. 2019 saw the first indictments filed in the Petrobras-Odebrecht and football-related cases, and also in the fields of international criminal law and cybercrime. Important indictments were also filed in relation to combating terrorism. In addition, the OAG secured the forfeiture of substantial sums of money made from crime, in particular for restitution to persons or legal entities that had fallen victim to criminal offences. For example, in the series of cases relating to Petrobras-Odebrecht, more than CHF 400 million had been returned to Brazil by the end of 2019. And in 2019, CHF 130 million was forfeited for the purpose of restitution as part of the money laundering investigations connected with Uzbekistan.
Address for enquiries
Communication Service of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland; T +41 58 464 32 40; info@ba.admin.ch
Publisher
Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland
http://www.ba.admin.ch/
