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A man from Upper Valais wanted to get rid of his debts. On the Internet, he discovered an ad for small loans. His chance? His fate!
Nicholas AbtJournalism student Ringier
The pursuit of big money has plunged a 52-year-old from Upper Valais into ruin. He was in debt. High debts. Last year it was over a million Swiss francs, according to the criminal order of the Upper Valais public prosecutor’s office.
The craftsman could not count on bank loans. His financial situation is bad. The goal of one day delivering his farm debt-free was a long way off, writes the “Walliser Bote”.
Dodgy ad discovered on Facebook
In 2020 he had repeatedly believed that he would escape the debt trap. Earlier this year he discovered a Facebook ad advertising small foreign loans. After contacting him, a woman contacted him. She made it clear to him: if you want money, you have to deposit money first. For taxes, certificates and other formalities.
At first the man from Upper Valais took part, hoping to quickly earn a lot of money. But at one point his collar burst. He refused to make any further advance payments. The deal fell through. The money has been lost. But a few months later, a new hope emerged.
Money laundering allegations not taken seriously
A man approached the craftsman. Once again he was promised loans, once again he had to make advance payments. To do this, he would have to open several current accounts and reveal their login details. This could be used to cheat banks, as the stranger explained to him. He allegedly “rolled his money” through these accounts so that the banks would think he was rich. Then they would grant him the requested loan. Upper Valais never saw the promised loan. But suddenly he’s been part of criminal machinations.
Meanwhile, 125,000 francs had ended up in the Swiss account. All allegedly scammed by the unknown perpetrators who had access to the accounts. A Raiffeisen branch in Upper Valais has made the transactions suspicious. In July 2021 there was a discussion with the customer. The craftsman was accused of money laundering. What happened after? Anything. The accounts have remained open for the moment, the police have not been informed.
Several 10,000 francs went
After the first suspicions, the noose tightened around the criminals. In order not to be easily traced, they had made some transactions from accounts that did not belong to them. With the credit trick they convinced other people to open accounts and send them their access data. So they went unnoticed. For the moment, only Upper Valais is in the pillory.
Ultimately, he himself suspected that his accounts were being misused, as evidenced by the sanction order. Although he was unknowingly engaged in money laundering, he was found guilty. Because ignorance does not protect against punishment.
According to the police, three of the five bank accounts opened were misused for criminal activity. He is sentenced to a fine of 180 daily rates of 30 francs each. In addition, a two-year probationary period comes into force. He must also pay the court costs (1,500 francs) and a fine (800 francs) himself. He accepted the sanction order.
The mountain of debt continues to grow. To make matters worse, the criminals not only abused him as a money distribution machine, but also stole a total of 40,000 francs from him. Because not only did they park their black money there, but thanks to the access data they also used the Valaisan’s savings.
