Swiss Lawmakers Call for Bribery Probe Over Gold Gifts to Trump

Swiss lawmakers have urged prosecutors to assess whether gold gifts received by Donald Trump broke the country’s anti-bribery laws, Tom Latchem reported for The Daily Beast.

The request follows a U.S.–Swiss framework deal announced this month that lowered Trump’s 39% tariff on Swiss goods to 15%. (Photo: Bundesanwaltschaft BA / Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland OAG LinkedIn)

Parliamentarians Raphaël Mahaim and Greta Gysin asked the Office of the Attorney General to determine whether gifts reportedly given to the U.S. president by Swiss business leaders—including a Rolex watch and a gold bar—violated criminal code provisions that prohibit offering an “undue advantage” to a foreign public official, according to Reuters.

The request follows a U.S.–Swiss framework deal announced this month that lowered Trump’s 39% tariff on Swiss goods to 15%.

The deal was announced 10 days after the Oval Office meeting during which the gifts were reportedly given.

The Swiss Green Party lawmakers wrote that “the end does not justify all means,” asking prosecutors to determine whether criminal proceedings are warranted under statutes carrying penalties of up to five years in prison or a fine, Reuters said.

Executives from MSC, Rolex, Partners Group, Mercuria, Richemont and MKS PAMP were listed as attendees at the meeting.