The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) is putting an end to the investigations being conducted into Ricardo Ruben Depresbiteris, after the Argentine businessman was able to dissipate the suspicion of money laundering hovering over him. As a consequence, on 7 January 2013 the OAG abandoned proceedings and is withdrawing the request for mutual legal assistance it had addressed to the competent Argentine authorities.

The starting situation behind the case being investigated by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is the setting up and involvement in a criminal terrorist organisation belonging to the Al-Qaida network. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is now bringing this case before court and is filing charges against two Kurdish brothers who originally came from Iraq. They are being accused of being members of a criminal organisation with terrorist objectives that is headed by Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad alias Mullah Krekar, the founder and former leader of the terrorist organisation Ansar al Islam.

Kenyan criminal prosecution authorities receive additional legal assistance dossiers for investigation into Anglo-Leasing affair. The Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) today handed over further banking records and other documents obtained by the Office of the Attorney General to the Swiss lawyer who is representing Kenya's interest in the mutual assistance proceedings.

Today, the OECD released its latest country report and recommendations to Switzerland on the prevention of bribery of foreign public officials. In this report, the OECD commends Switzerland for the first case in which criminal sanctions were applied to a company for its failure to prevent the bribery of foreign public officials. The OECD also praised Switzerland for its proactive stance in the confiscation, recovery and return of illegally obtained assets. It also noted that Switzerland introduced new provisions, which came into effect on 1 January 2011, whereby federal employees have a duty to report crimes and irregularities. At the same time, the OECD encourages Switzerland to continue its efforts to fight the bribery of foreign public officials.

On 8 December 2011, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) filed charges under the War Material Act in the Federal Criminal Court in the Tinner case against the father and his two sons. The accused are charged with aiding the illegal nuclear weapons programme of an unknown state through various activities.

The Office of the Attorney Genereal (OAG) has effectively closed criminal proceedings conducted against two entities of the Alstom group after two years of investigation. It has issued a summary punishment order against Alstom Network Schweiz AG (formerly Alstom Prom AG) for breach of article 102 section 2 Swiss Criminal Code (SCC) in conjunction with article 322septies SCC and fined the company with CHF 2,5 million and imposed a compensatory claim of CHF 36,4 million.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has charged seven persons on suspicion of money laundering and economic crime in connection with the allegedly illegal take-over of one of the most important Czech energy companies. Formal charges have been filed with the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has indicted two Italian citizens and a Swiss man resident in Italy on charges relating to a planned bomb attack on the IBM nanotechnology centre in Rüschlikon. The indictment was filed in the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona on 6 May 2011.

Today, the Swiss Federal Criminal Police (FCP) carried out a nationally coordinated operation directed at Tamil individuals and members of the “Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam” (LTTE). They are accused, amongst other offences, of money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation. In ten cantons a total of 23 premises were searched and 10 individuals arrested. The police operation, led and coordinated by the FCP, was authorised by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and was conducted in close collaboration with the cantonal police forces.

The Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has returned some CHF 20 million to the Supreme Prosecutors Office of Taiwan, part of the money that was deposited in Switzerland by the former Taiwanese President, Chen Shui-bian, who was recently convicted of corruption in his homeland. This move once again demonstrates Switzerland’s resolve to take action against those who use its financial centre for criminal purposes and its intention to restore assets of criminal origin to their rightful owners. Proceedings here are continuing in order to establish the origin of the remainder of assets currently frozen in Switzerland.

UBS client Jeffrey Chernick alleged in the course of tax evasion proceedings against him in Florida that a bribe had been paid to an official in the Swiss Federal Administration. Following publication of the court files on the internet by the US justice authorities in July 2009, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) filed a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) relating to the published bribery allegations. The investigation conducted by the OAG failed to uncover any indication of criminal conduct. Accordingly, the proceedings were abandoned on 26 March 2010.

House searches have been carried out in various cantons in connection with corruption and money laundering allegations against several persons associated with the ALSTOM Group. One person has been arrested.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has successfully concluded its investigations into the United Nations oil-for-food scandal. Thanks to fruitful cooperation with the cantons, over CHF 17 million has been successfully seized in Switzerland so far.