«Jetzt ist also klar, warum die Billette immer teurer wurden – weil niemandem aufgefallen ist, dass man da etwas kontrollieren sollte.»
Nine million Swiss francs quietly vanished from the accounts of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) over a span of 17 years, slipping past a busy corporate machinery until a disgruntled former colleague picked up the phone to report it, Blick reported. Ueli T., a 54-year-old former head of procurement logistics, now faces up to 15 years in federal prison as his trial opens at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona.
The 17-Year Scheme Built on Phantom Invoices
The mechanics of the fraud relied on administrative inertia rather than sophisticated digital intrusion. Starting in 2007 and continuing until his arrest on November 20, 2024, Ueli T. allegedly orchestrated a web of fake companies and fabricated invoices for services that never materialized. Because he held high-level signing authority within the state-owned railway enterprise, the internal payment machinery cleared the bills with minimal friction.
According to court filings cited by Blick, the SBB accounting department limited its reviews to matching supplier names, purchase order numbers, and total amounts. Deep compliance audits occurred only intermittently, leaving an open corridor for fraudulent payouts that steadily drained corporate funds over more than half of the accused employee’s career.
When questioned about the motive, Ueli T. offered a blunt explanation to Blick ahead of the proceedings: «Ich hatte einen finanziellen Engpass und deshalb solche Sachen gemacht.» He declined to elaborate further, leaving the indictment papers to document the full scope of the acquisitions funded by the railway’s losses.
Villas, Firearms, and a Rare Lamborghini
The missing millions funded a sprawling lifestyle spanning multiple continents. Investigators tracked the embezzled funds to expensive vacations, premium whiskey collections, and residential properties in Switzerland and the United States equipped with swimming pools and private armories.
The most conspicuous asset in the seized inventory was an Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Blancpain, an Italian supercar belonging to a limited production run of just twelve units worldwide. Alongside Ueli T., his sister and three other men stand accused of helping construct the corporate facade used to siphon the funds.
Legal Realities and the Statute of Limitations
André Kuhn, a specialist attorney for criminal law, outlined the legal exposure awaiting the defendants during inquiries by Blick. Commercial fraud alone carries a prison sentence ranging from six months to 10 years, but when combined with charges of aggravated money laundering, multiple counts of unfaithful management, and document forgery, the total exposure reaches up to 15 years.
Unternehmen haben zwar Kontrollsysteme, um Betrug zu verhindern. Aber es ist schwierig, sich gegen die immer erfinderischen neuen Maschen betrügerischer Mitarbeiter zu wehren. Im vorliegenden Fall waren die Dokumente für die Buchhaltung korrekt, was die Betrugsverhinderung erschwerte, erklärte André Kuhn.
Despite the massive total of nine million francs extracted over nearly two decades, the court proceedings will focus on a reduced figure of five million francs. Under Swiss law, fraud offenses become time-barred after 15 years, meaning the earliest transactions fell out of the prosecutorial window before the trial commenced.
To recover what remains, authorities plan to auction off the seized luxury items once the verdict is delivered. For any remaining financial shortfall, Kuhn noted that the convicted individuals will likely spend years after their release attempting to settle debts that accumulated during the operation.
