SBB fraud case: Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona passes sentence on former executive
A former SBB department head is alleged to have defrauded the federal railway of nearly 9 million Swiss francs. The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona announced its verdict today.
Verdict in Bellinzona: Ex-SBB executive in court over million-franc fraud
The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona announced its verdict on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the largest fraud case in recent SBB history. As bluewin.ch reports, Roman Frei* (54), a former department head in the maintenance of SBB rolling stock in Olten, stands as the main defendant at the centre of the proceedings.
Systematic fraud over many years
From 2007 onwards, Frei is alleged to have ordered material in the SBB's SAP system that was never delivered, and to have recorded it as "destroyed at supplier". The invoices were sent to companies within his personal circle – the money subsequently flowed back to him.
The total damage amounts to nearly 9 million Swiss francs. As older offences have since expired, the court is still dealing with claims of approximately 4.4 million Swiss francs. According to the indictment, Frei used the defrauded money to finance a Lamborghini, a house in Florida, shares and an extensive weapons arsenal. He was only exposed in 2024 when a former friend alerted the SBB.
Four co-defendants – knowledge or ignorance?
In addition to Frei, who has confessed, four other people are charged: his sister Monika Frei (64), the former GLP politician Martin Lüthi (55), the former justice office employee Beat Studer (57) and Werner Huber (69), a former police officer living in Florida. Huber did not appear in court.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office is seeking 77 months of unconditional imprisonment for the main defendant. Frei's explanation that he began the fraud due to the debts of his first wife is rejected by the prosecution: with an annual salary of nearly 150,000 Swiss francs plus bonuses, there was never a need. He is said to have kept approximately 3.87 million Swiss francs for himself.
For the co-defendants, the Federal Prosecutor's Office is seeking: 29 months for Studer, 26 months for Huber (six months unconditional each), 23 months conditional for Lüthi, and a conditional fine of 150 daily rates of 60 francs for the sister.
SBB acknowledges control gaps
The Federal Prosecutor's Office acknowledges deficiencies in the SBB's internal control system, but rejects shared responsibility by the federal railway: "It cannot be denied that the SBB's procedures and systems had deficiencies with regard to control function." Frei's defence lawyer Boris Kreit therefore requests only 32 months partially conditional and wants the inadequate controls to be taken into account in sentencing.
The SBB is seeking approximately five million Swiss francs back from Frei – a claim he has acknowledged. From the three business partners, the SBB is jointly demanding partial amounts: from Lüthi approximately 926,000 francs, from Studer approximately 1.5 million francs and from Huber approximately 1.9 million Swiss francs.
Defence relies on co-defendants' ignorance
Ironically, the confessed main defendant provides the defence with its strongest argument. Frei told the court about his accomplices: "They knew nothing." He had explained to them that, as an SBB employee, he could not act as a supplier himself.
Studer's lawyer stressed that his client was dyslexic and administratively inexperienced. He had trusted Frei and believed the supply transactions to be a standard business model. Lüthi's defence counsel calculated that her client had earned 31,650 francs over 21 months – approximately 1,570 francs per month: "One must not confuse economic attractiveness with criminal intent."
Huber's defence lawyer also demands an acquittal, even though his client issued fictitious invoices and forwarded money. Huber believed the documents were intended for accounting purposes and knew nothing of fraud against the SBB. Before the court, however, Frei accused Huber of lying.
Closing statements and time pressure
In their closing statements, all co-defendants emphasised their innocence. "I never thought it was a bad thing," said Studer. Lüthi described himself as a trusting person who does not always "look for flaws". The sister refrained from reiterating her innocence and merely thanked the court for having heard her.
The court is under time pressure: further alleged offences will expire from 2 November onwards. The Federal Prosecutor's Office had therefore explicitly requested a verdict before this date. The decision lies with the three Federal Criminal Court judges Maric Demont, Martin Stupf and Alberto Fabbri.
According to the indictment, it is criminally relevant if the accomplices accepted the fraud at least in the bargain. The central question of the proceedings is therefore: what did the four co-defendants know – and what should they have suspected?
*Names changed, known to the editorial office.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)