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The Basel prosecutor announced Monday that charges will be brought against the director of economy and health, Weber. Extensive investigations into the ZAK case complex have now concluded. The process against the governing council, in office since 2013, began in August 2018.
In addition to Weber, another employee of the cantonal administration must answer to the criminal court. The process against another person involved in the case had been initiated.
Unfaithful management
The charge is of unfaithful conduct or complicity, as announced by the prosecutor. The defendants are accused of having provided, in 2014 and 2015, to the Central Association for Labor Market Control a financial advantage of more than 100,000 francs a year to the detriment of the canton of Basel-Landschaft.
ZAK’s global compensation increased from CHF 380,000 to CHF 650,000 between 2010 and 2013. The defendants are accused of failing to clarify or not having clarified whether this global compensation demanded by ZAK officials was justified.
The criminal investigation, which is now concluded, was opened a little over two years ago, according to information provided by the then prosecutor, in particular from the testimony of a former employee of the Weber Department of Economics and Health.
The prosecution had previously announced in early summer 2018 that it had found “aspects that could affect the Weber Governing Council” during the ZAK process. Subsequently, the Basel cantonal court rejected two requests for a recital from the prosecution.
The social association ZAK was responsible for the controls of illegal work in the Basel-based construction industry until the end of 2016. However, it had outsourced the control activities, which, according to a legal opinion of the government, contradicted the idea basic law of cantonal illegal employment.
