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The Rapperswil-Jona Lakers pension fund is on the verge of collapse. The Schwyzer Kantonalbank played a key role in the cash register. But she doesn’t want to take responsibility for the debacle. Research by SRF and “Sonntagsblick”.
It’s one of the biggest pension scandals of recent years, and now the affected Phoenix pension fund is on the brink. You have turned to the security fund BVG – the rescue institution for ailing and bankrupt pension funds. “In this extraordinary situation, it would be irresponsible not to include the security fund,” says the legal representative of PK Phoenix.
The board of trustees of the pension fund, in turn, hopes, with the support of the security fund, to find those responsible for the accounting hole of 12 million francs: “Then we would have to sue the offenders because that is our duty to the insured,” says Phoenix Vice President Orlando Pavano.
The Rapperswil-Jona Lakers also have their pension money with the Aargauer Phoenix: “We at the Lakers only want to be able to concentrate on the sport. That’s why we hope that peace will finally return. And that those who caused this debacle take responsibility,” says the managing director of Lakers Sport AG.
Schwyzer Kantonalbank deeply involved in the Phoenix debacle
The “Research Collective Phoenix” from SRF and Ringier analyzed, digitized and inventoried over 1000 documents on the case. This shows that the involvement of the Schwyzer Kantonalbank in the Phoenix case is deeper than previously known.
The Schwyzer Kantonalbank and Nova-Vorsorge-Holding, which it controls, had taken the position with the Aargau supervisory authority that those responsible for the Aargau Pensionskasse Phoenix were themselves responsible for the million-dollar hole. Specifically, those responsible at PK Phoenix are said to have made crooked construction deals with the founder of the pension fund in Lütisburg (SG) in 2013. And that’s why the pension fund got into trouble.
Due to the factual and legal circumstances, we intend to discontinue the proceedings without further ado.
Various Swiss media have picked up on these allegations since 2019. Only: The Thurgau public prosecutor’s office has been investigating the allegations against eight people in the Phoenix area and against the founder of the pension fund for years. The research collective is in possession of documents that the Thurgau public prosecutor’s office wrote about five months ago: “Due to the factual and legal circumstances, we intend to discontinue the proceedings without further proceedings.”
According to information from the research collective, there were no further appeals against eight criminal proceedings, only in the case of the Phoenix founder did the Nova provision make new entries. According to experts, however, it is rather unlikely that new, decisive evidence will suddenly emerge in five years of intensive criminal proceedings. To date, no person associated with Phoenix or its founder has been convicted in a legally binding manner, either in the administrative proceedings, which were dragged on to the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Supreme Court, or in the civil proceedings before the District Court of Schwyz.
Unsubstantiated allegations against Phoenix officials
But who is then responsible for the hole of 12 million Swiss francs at the Phoenix? Specialists are still working on the case on behalf of Phoenix. In their interim report, the forensic auditors write: “It must be assumed that the 2016 financial statements are significantly incorrect.”
This finding is disputed today by the pension holding company Nova. The fact remains: Nova-Vorsorge-Holding, which is controlled by Schwyzer Kantonalbank, managed the Phoenix pension fund in 2015 and 2016 and was therefore also responsible for its accounting during this time. Until the end of 2016, after months of wrestling, the Phoenix was able to break away from Nova-Vorsorge-Holding.
Now the research of SRF and “Sonntagsblick” show: A board of directors of the Nova-Vorsorge-Holding controlled by the Schwyzer Kantonalbank anonymously co-authored a Word document in spring 2017 – with numerous allegations against those responsible for Phoenix in connection with real estate transactions from 2013 in Lütisburg.
In such a case, the BVG security fund must sue. Because he is obliged to keep the damage to the BVG insured as low as possible.
In other words, the massive allegations that have decisively shaped the Phoenix case to this day appeared in the anonymous Word document for the first time in 2017. An anonymous document, by the way, co-authored by a board of directors at Nova-Vorsorge-Holding, which is controlled by Schwyzer Kantonalbank.
On behalf of the Aargau supervisory authority, a more than 100-page report was created from this in the summer of 2017, which to this day has become the main evidence against Phoenix: Based on this, the Phoenix Foundation Board was dismissed at the end of 2017, a lawsuit was unsuccessfully brought before the Federal Court in 2018 and in 2019 a comprehensive article in written for a major newspaper.
“That’s all sorts of things,” says Urs Eicher, President of the PK network, the BVG social partner for employees. For Eicher it is clear: “In such a case, the BVG security fund must sue. Because he is obliged to keep the damage to the BVG insured as low as possible. »
According to the law professor, lawsuits have a chance
The Schwyzer Kantonalbank answers the questions of the “Phoenix research collective”: “From the point of view of the SZKB, the matter is settled with the sale of the minority stake in Nova Vorsorge AG in May 2021.”
In fact, the Schwyzer Kantonalbank owned only 49 percent of Nova-Vorsorge-Holding. In addition, however, she had the right to chair the board of directors and thus the majority of votes on the board of directors of Nova-Vorsorge-Holding. In 2020, the Schwyzer Kantonalbank itself wrote in an annual report that SZKB held a “dominant position” with regard to its stake in Nova Vorsorge AG.
There has not yet been such a lawsuit in occupational pension schemes, but convictions have actually already been passed in other areas due to such a starting position.
According to Professor Thomas Gächter, one of the most distinguished Swiss social insurance experts, a lawsuit against the Schwyzer Kantonalbank could actually have a chance of success: “There has not yet been such a lawsuit in occupational pension schemes, but in other areas, due to such a starting position, convictions have actually already been made.”
By then, the race will probably be over for the pension fund, with which the Schwyzer Kantonalbank wanted to make big money: This phoenix will hardly rise from the ashes.