B-04-21 FINMA Guidance 07/2020

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,[...]