Economics minister Johann Schneider-Ammann has ordered an administrative investigation into allegations of corruption at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The investigation will look into the awarding of contracts to an IT firm.
The economics ministry confirmed reports of the investigation in the Tages-Anzeiger and Der Bund newspapers.
The papers alleged that a departmental head at SECO had developed suspicious business dealings with an external IT company, giving out contracts and receiving VIP tickets, trips and gifts in excess of tens of thousands of francs in return.
They also claimed that the company had billed SECO for too many working hours.
The director of the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO), Michel Huissoud, called for stronger measures in response to the «shocking» allegations.
«In light of the situation that has been revealed, a criminal charge would be appropriate, not just an administrative investigation,» Huissoud said.
He added that SECO had to clarify that all internal procedures and checks had been functioning properly.
Earlier this month it was also reported that between 2009 and 2011 SECO awarded contracts worth around CHF34 million ($37.6 million) without a public bidding process. Bidding should have taken place based on the values of the individual contracts.