Criminal proceedings over oil-for-food programme

Switzerland has launched criminal proceedings against four people in connection with the UN oil-for-food programme, the Economics Ministry said today.

“If it turns out that firms operating in Switzerland behaved illegally, the authorities will investigate these allegations and will if necessary institute legal proceedings against those responsible,” the Economics Ministry said in a statement, without giving names or further details.

The Attorney General’s Office has also blocked bank accounts related to the case, the statement said.

Swiss authorities have already fined a Geneva-based oil-treading company £22,000 (€32.321) for paying kickbacks under the oil-for-food programme, but have declined to name the company.

Switzerland will also follow up information contained in a report by a UN-backed investigation released today, the statement said.

About 170 files, including many bank documents, were handed over to the UN inquiry – headed by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker – as part of the official assistance provided by the Swiss authorities, the Economics Ministry said.

The inquiry “also conducted interviews in Switzerland with over 30 representatives of banks, oil dealers and various other companies,” it said, adding that the cooperation between Switzerland and the UN inquiry “confirms that banking secrecy is not an obstacle to the disclosure of criminal practices.”

Most Swiss companies investigated “co-operated willingly and efficiently” and only three partly foreign-controlled oil trading firms refused to hand over documents, the ministry said.