By the end of November 2021, 34,864 companies had submitted a total of 51,956 requests for financial aid, for over CHF 5 billion. 96 percent of these were granted as a fonds perdu contributions.
In a current analysis, the Swiss Federal Audit Office has come to the conclusion that large sums of money were illegally withdrawn.
For example, the fact that 60 companies that received a total of CHF 11.1 million in aid simultaneously paid out dividends of CHF 8.1 million, which was not allowed, can actually be dismissed as a speck. The same applies to the identified unauthorized capital repayments.
It gives you more food for thought that more than 2,500 applicants stated that the Corona-related drop in sales was more than 40 percent, which entitled them to receive financial aid. In reality, however, this was not the case. This is about payments of over 500 million Swiss francs.
Thousands of businesses that were closed by order of the authorities have received over 200 million francs in aid – even though they were actually able to increase their sales.
1,218 companies with a-fonds-perdu financial aid of 267 million francs have redeemed Covid 19 loans worth 207 million francs. In other words, they first took out an interest-free loan and then repaid the loan with a-fonds-perdu contributions from the federal government.
In short: For many of these companies, the real hardship could now arrive if they have to repay the illegally obtained funds.
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