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The public transport debacle: Lucerne Transport Association and Federal Transport Office file criminal charges against VBL
The BAV and the VVL are bringing criminal charges against the Lucerne transport company, as they have pocketed too much money for several years. The federal government lists fraud and document falsification as possible facts.
The VBL building in the Tribschen district of Lucerne.
Now, the subsidy debacle surrounding the Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) is becoming a case for the court: the Federal Transport Office (BAV) and the Verkehrsverbund Luzern (VVL) are bringing criminal charges against the VBL. Both grant providers refer to the independent investigation report that Lucerne city council released on Friday. This shows that “those responsible for the VBL have obtained benefits in subsidized public transport since 2010 and have not informed customers of them,” writes the FOT. The VVL shares this opinion. In particular, it is a sum of more than 16 million francs, which the transport association is demanding from the VBL.
Although the BAV and the VVL coordinate, the two criminal charges are filed separately. Apparently, the ads are not directed against specific people. “At the moment, no specific people can be identified,” writes BAV media spokesman Andreas Windlinger on request. “That is why the reports were initially directed against unknown persons or, more generally, against the individuals and corporate entities involved.” The focus is on fraud and document forgery, as well as subsidy offenses, Windlinger says.
In the case of negligent conduct, fine interest will be owed
The VVL writes upon request that the report will be presented to the Lucerne canton prosecutor in the next few days. If there is culpable behavior, penalty interest of up to 5 percent will also be owed in accordance with the Subsidies Act. The purpose of the notification is to clarify whether there is criminally relevant behavior within the meaning of the Penal Code or in relation to the cantonal state contribution law and the national subsidy law. As a possible point, VVL spokesperson Romeo Degiacomi names the “2017-2021 target agreement”. The authors of the research report called a statement of this agreement “objectively inaccurate.”
“It is currently open whether more relevant facts will be determined in the course of the criminal investigations,” says Degiacomi. “The investigations of the Public Ministry will show it.” The VVL strives to create transparency with criminal investigations. Currently, the presumption of innocence applies to all people.
Transportation companies welcome criminal investigation
The city of Lucerne, as the sole owner of the VBL, is known to refrain from filing a criminal complaint. The executive assumes that a report is the business of subsidy providers VVL and BAV. “It is difficult to assess whether and to what extent the city of Lucerne has suffered damage,” Mayor Beat Züsli said last Friday. Also consider that the city would damage its own company with an advertisement. However, the parliamentary business audit committee recommended that the city council report it.
Press conference of the city of Lucerne on the VBL debacle last Friday. Pictured are Mayor Beat Züsli (center) and CFO Franziska Bitzi-Staub (right).
The transport companies themselves do not know the details of the criminal complaint. “We learned about the criminal complaint from the media,” wrote the VBL when asked. The company emphasizes: “The board of directors that resigned and the leadership of the VBL welcome the criminal investigation.” The former board of directors refers to the report by Paul Richli and the brief report by criminal law expert Stefan Maeder. It is concluded that those responsible for the VBL have not been classified as a crime. “The VBL will ensure full transparency,” the company said. The resignations of the board of directors did not change the fact that they, as individuals, face a criminal investigation.
