Trial Ex-director of Lucerne transport company rejects accusation of fraud
An ex-director of Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern AG (VBL) has defended the controversial former billing practice at the trial before the criminal court. In operational terms, the VBL had done what the city government had politically and the board of directors had strategically prescribed.
21.01.2025, 10:26
SDA
The VBL is said to have received excessive subsidies for years with the help of internally calculated imputed interest. It used this to pay the dividend for the sole shareholder, the city of Lucerne.
This "offsetting mechanism" was intentional, said the former director. The VBL had acted in the "sense and spirit" of what was expected.
The VBL invoices had always been approved, said the accused. The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) had also applied a "tolerant practice" until the Postbus subsidy affair. "Then the screw was tightened". The FOT wanted to divert attention from its own failings with criminal charges.
The public prosecutor's office is accusing a total of five members of the Executive Board of fraud in 2018 and 2019.
