Swiss Lawmakers Seek Probe Into Whether Gifts To Trump, Including Gold Bar, Broke The Law
ZURICH, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Two Swiss lawmakers have asked prosecutors to investigate whether Swiss business leaders gave gifts to the U.S. President. donald Embers It was stated that those found, including a Rolex watch and a gold bar, violated Switzerland’s anti-bribery laws, although a source close to the delegation said that they complied with the laws of both countries.
Switzerland this month hit Framework agreement with the USA for a 39 percent cut recipe to 15% on Swiss goods. The agreement came 10 days after the visit of a delegation of Swiss businessmen. Embers in the Oval Office, roller gifts.
“The gifts were presented to the Presidential Library on behalf of the group attending the meeting, in accordance with both U.S. and Swiss law,” a person close to the business delegation told Reuters, adding that the gifts were discussed with the White House ethics adviser.
Raphael Mahaim and Greta Gysin, both Green Party MPs, said in their letter to the prosecutor that the legality of the gifts should be evaluated by the judicial system.
“The end does not justify any means, especially when it comes to respecting important provisions of our legal order,” they wrote, asking the prosecutor to decide whether the gifts violated the Swiss Criminal Code. The prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Executives from MSC, Rolex, Partners Group, Mercuria, Richemont and MKS joined at the meeting with EmbersAccording to a statement seen by Reuters.
Rolex and MKS declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked for comment, Alfred Gantner, a co-founder of Partners Group who attended the meeting, said public-private collaboration provides a much-needed solution to the Swiss-US tariff dispute.
The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Under Swiss law, any person can report a crime to a criminal justice authority, which then decides whether to initiate criminal proceedings.
It is unclear whether the prosecutor will file a lawsuit. Mahaim said he did not expect any future findings by the judicial system to have legal ramifications for the tariff agreement.
Giving an “undue advantage” to a foreign public official in order to influence a decision can attract up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine. In the MPs’ letter, a list of the gifts was given, but it was not stated which companies or individuals offered them.
(Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Ariane Luthi in Zurich; Editing by Ros Russell and Bill Berkrot)
