B-04-21 FINMA Guidance 07/2020

In a judgement published on 31 May 2024, the Federal Court had already confirmed that the fraudulent obtaining of a ‘COVID-19’ loan constituted fraud (ATF 150 IV 169, commented in Dupuis, cdbf.ch/1353). On the other hand, its case law was fluctuating with regard to the commission of the offence of forgery in relation to the presentation of the false credit application form to the lending bank. The judgement 6B_95/2024 of 6 February 2025, intended for publication, provided the answer of[...]

Since March 2020, more than 100,000 Swiss companies have made use of the bonded loans set up by the Confederation to make up for a lack of liquidity following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Swiss authorities' desire to respond quickly to an exceptional situation and to ensure rapid access to funds led them to introduce a facilitated procedure, based essentially on a self-declaration by the credit applicant, which has unfortunately seen its share of abuses. In a recent ruling to be[...]

Can obtaining a COVID credit fraudulently lead to criminal consequences, and if so, what are they? In ruling 6B_295/2022, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a greedy entrepreneur for money laundering. The ruling also provides an opportunity to discuss other criminal offences that may be relevant. A quick (re)contextualization before turning to the case at hand: in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic strikes with full force. To help companies affected by this crisis, on March 25, 2020,[...]