Jaussi was threatened before attack

Jaussi says his company has put off bankruptcy proceedings Keystone

The chief executive of Swiss Space Systems S3 who was brutally attacked several weeks ago is out of the hospital and says he had been receiving threats before the attack. He also admitted that his company is facing financial trouble. 

S3 works on technologies to bring small satellites into orbit and conducts space research.

Pascal Jaussi, the 40-year-old head of S3, announced in a press release on Thursday that he and his company had been the victims of “threats, sabotage and menacing phone calls” in the weeks leading up to the day when he was abducted, taken to a wooded area and set on fire. In its press release, the company said it had turned all the phone recordings and documents pertaining to the threats over to the police and highlighted the fact that the Swiss police do not have specific protocols in place to protect the victims of such threats. 

“The feeling of insecurity is present, but you have to get over it and keep moving forward or it will eat at you little by little,” Jaussi said in the statement. 

The S3 chief executive also admitted that his company is facing financial difficulties but said it had not filed for bankruptcy. 

“S3 will recapitalise in order to stay together and pay back its debts,” Jaussi told Swiss Public Television RTS on Wednesday. “There is an aspect of honesty towards the people who have trusted us.” 

The company also stated in its press release that neither it nor Jaussi are the subject of an investigation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, as had been reported in some media outlets in connection with money laundering suspicions.