Swiss defence firm searched over suspected Russian arms deal
After being made aware of the allegations by a whistle-blower, RUAG said it had immediately launched an internal probe and had filed a criminal complaint with the Swiss federal prosecutor's office.
Keystone
The offices of the state-owned defence company RUAG were raided on Thursday by Swiss federal prosecutors as part of an investigation into suspected arms deals involving Russian President Vladimir Putin's bodyguards.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) confirmed that it had ordered a search of RUAG’s premises on Thursday morning following a report of a criminal offence, reported by the company itself. OAG added that it had opened criminal proceedings relating to the federal act on war materiel, criminal mismanagement and possibly misconduct in public office.
The Swiss state-owned defence contractor RUAG is reportedly cooperating fully with the prosecuting authorities.
The Handelszeitung newspaper External linkbroke the story on Thursday. The German-speaking business newspaper said the case allegedly involved an executive at RUAG’s ammunitions business Ammotec and a Julius Baer banker in Russia, who for years secretly arranged deals in technical equipment and weapons for Putin’s guards.
After being made aware of the allegations by a whistle-blower, RUAG said it had immediately launched an internal investigation and had filed a criminal complaint with the OAG.
In a statement released on Thursday, RUAG said that an employee had been fired immediately for these “unacceptable circumstances”. It added that to the best of the company’s knowledge, all export transactions related to the allegations were carried out “in conformity with legal regulations”.
Julius Baer told Reuters that it was aware of the allegations and was investigating them, adding that the employee in question would be suspended.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Zurich: how the world capital of housing shortages is tackling the problem
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Pope was a person full of respect: Swiss president
This content was published on
Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter, who is attending the funeral of Pope Francis, says the pontiff was always full of respect.
Ex-sect member sentenced in Zurich for sexual abuse
This content was published on
Zurich District Court has sentenced a former member of the globally active sect "Children of God" to a partial prison sentence.
SNB chairman does not rule out slowdown in Swiss growth
This content was published on
Martin Schlegel, chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), does not rule out a weakening of the Swiss economy in light of the tariff dispute.
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 weapons producer expands presence in UAE
This content was published on
The company plans to expand its daughter firm, Ruag Simulation Company, from four employees to 10-15 staff next year in the United Arab Emirate. The office will specialise in training simulation systems, Ruag told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. Ruag chief executive Urs Breitmeier told the newspaper that the expansion of the Abu…
This content was published on
The discovery of drugs last September was only revealed in the 2015 annual report of Bern’s cantonal justice authorities, and the Swiss media didn’t pick up on the story until Friday. The Chilean state-owned weapons manufacturer FAMAE had sent the tanks to RUAG for an overhaul of their engines and transmission systems in 2015. The…
This content was published on
“The attacks were industrial espionage,” Defence Minister Guy Parmelin told the Swiss daily newspapers Tages-Anzeiger and The Bund in an interview on Wednesday. According to the news report, Russia is suspected of being behind the computer attacks. The Russian embassy in Bern has not commented on the issue. The Tages-Anzeiger has also quoted Alex Kuprecht, head…
This content was published on
The moratorium has held up more than 50 multi-million franc deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Swiss weapons manufacturers had voiced their concerns at the ban, with the state-controlled Ruag saying it had cost the company tens of millions of francs and potential job losses. Last summer, lobby groups for the…
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.