Corruption at Elvetino: ex-CEO Winter on trial in Zurich
Former Elvetino chief executive Wolfgang Winter is appearing before Zurich district court. The public prosecutor's office accuses him of bribery payments and fraud amounting to hundreds of thousands of francs.
Ex-Elvetino chief in court: bribes, kick-backs and "potato harvest"
A year before his summary dismissal, Wolfgang Winter wrote to a friend on WhatsApp that he wanted to leave the SBB soon – "but first to make some cash". As nzz.ch reports, the Zurich public prosecutor's office uses this message today as symptomatic of what the ex-CEO of Elvetino is said to have undertaken during his tenure: a system of bribery, insider dealings and overpriced goods deliveries from China.
The case is currently being tried before Zurich district court. At the centre is Winter, once CEO of SBB subsidiary Elvetino, which operates restaurant cars and minibar trolleys on Swiss trains. The indictment describes a multi-year criminal career in which Winter and a network of trusted associates – internally known as "Wolf-Gang" – allegedly used the state enterprise like a self-service shop.
The public prosecutor's office is calling for multi-year prison sentences and reimbursement of a total of around 600,000 francs. The accused deny the accusations and describe themselves as victims of intrigue and false allegations.
A CEO with a reputation and a broad smile
Winter took up his position as CEO at Elvetino in December 2011. He was regarded as a shirtsleeves manager with a firm hand, a so-called "pure-blooded logistics man". When he was appointed, the SBB highlighted his broad management experience. The company he took over employed over 900 staff, budgeted for annual turnover of 80 million francs and operated more than one hundred dining cars, dozens of bistros and over 200 minibars.
Outwardly: the friendly railway employee type with glasses, a bald head and a broad laugh. Behind the scenes, according to the accusation, a completely different picture.
The consultancy mandate as a bribery vehicle
According to the indictment, it began with a lucrative consultancy mandate that Winter arranged in January 2012 for an old acquaintance: Ramon Althoff (name changed), formerly logistics chief of a steel company and a pensioner at the time of the alleged offences. He was to advise Elvetino on complex IT matters – at a daily rate of 2,500 francs.
"Rather odd, if you consider that he regularly struggles to use his own mobile phone – an old Nokia model – properly," the prosecutor remarked in court. According to the indictment, the agreed cost ceiling is said to have been exceeded by double. Within five years, Althoff received almost one million francs in fees.
Exactly what for is the subject of the proceedings. The prosecutor says Althoff was rarely in the office and fell asleep during meetings. Winter's defence counsel counters that he played a decisive role in quality assurance and provided high-quality reports.
"Potato harvest" and "mango harvest" on the bank statement
Part of the money is said to have flowed back to Winter. Althoff had recorded the repayments to his client in an Excel file that Zurich authorities secured during a house search. According to this table, the payments were usually made in cash, but sometimes also by transfer to Winter's private account – with the subject lines "potato harvest" and later "mango harvest".
For the public prosecutor's office, these are classic kick-backs: compensation for overpaid contracts, in short "bribes". The defence describes the payments as a spontaneous "friendly favour born of pure gratitude" that served "employee motivation" at Elvetino.
The judge asked Winter during the trial why none of his staff had ever heard of this alleged motivation programme. Winter's answer: "No comment."
Silence in court
Winter himself does not comment on the accusations. He has already said enough about them in recent years, it was stated. He left the talking to his lawyers. These paint the picture of an entrepreneur who acted completely legally and exclusively for the benefit of Elvetino.
How the alleged system came to light on 17 August 2017, the indictment describes as a turning point: on that day everything was revealed. Winter was summarily dismissed shortly after.
State enterprise as a self-service shop?
The case extends beyond Winter as an individual. The indictment describes a network that operated untroubled for years – because, according to the accusation, everything always went well and nobody looked too closely. In addition to the consultancy mandate, the "Wolf-Gang" is said to have procured overpriced junk goods from China and engaged in insider dealings. Details regarding another accused named Zihan Wang (name changed) are not yet fully known at the current stage of proceedings.
The proceedings illuminate once again possible corruption structures within state enterprises – a topic that has repeatedly made headlines in Switzerland recently.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)