In short. An executive investigated in Geneva for fraud, criminal mismanagement or misappropriation makes his first decisions without seeing the file, to which the law only guarantees access at the latest after his first interview and the gathering of the main evidence. He has the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present from the first police interview. After a search, the holder of the seized documents and data has three days to request sealing, failing which the prosecutor may examine them. A freezing order on an account can be appealed within ten days. Going in alone to “explain everything” is rarely wise.
A police summons “as a person providing information”. Investigators at reception on a Tuesday morning with a search warrant. Or the bank announcing, without further explanation, that the company’s accounts have been frozen on the prosecutor’s orders. The first sign takes many forms, and it rarely comes at a convenient time.
Fraud cases are not marginal in Geneva. The canton recorded 2,804 cases of fraud in 2025, down 11% on the previous year, according to figures published by the State of Geneva in March 2026.
What kind of notice have you received?
The first step depends on what has just happened.
- A summons as a “person providing information”. You are not a suspect, but this status applies in particular to someone who could turn out to be the perpetrator or a participant (art. 178 let. d CrimPC) and to anyone who has been or may be designated to represent a company in proceedings against it, as well as its employees (let. g). Such a person is not obliged to testify (art. 180 para. 1 CrimPC). Prepare it with a lawyer as if it were a suspect interview.
- A summons as an accused person. Proceedings have been opened against you. At the start of the first interview, you must be told which offences are involved and that you may refuse to testify, instruct a lawyer and ask for an interpreter (art. 158 para. 1 CrimPC). An interview without this information cannot be used (para. 2).
- A search of the office or home. The deadline that matters is three days, to request sealing (art. 248 para. 1 CrimPC).
- A frozen account. A freezing order may secure evidence, costs and penalties, assets to be returned to victims or confiscated, or a compensatory claim of the State (art. 263 para. 1 CrimPC). It can be appealed with reasons within ten days (art. 396 para. 1 CrimPC). See our article on frozen bank accounts in Switzerland.
What are executives most often accused of?
Fraud requires deceiving someone through cunning and causing them to act against their financial interests. It carries up to five years’ custody or a monetary penalty (art. 146 para. 1 Swiss Criminal Code, SCC). The element of cunning is a demanding condition, and an unpaid loan is not fraud in itself.
Misappropriation covers the unlawful use of assets entrusted to the accused, with up to five years (art. 138 no. 1 SCC), or ten years for an asset manager or a licensed profession (no. 2). Criminal mismanagement punishes someone who must manage another’s financial interests and harms them in breach of his duties, with up to three years, or five years where he sought unlawful gain (art. 158 no. 1 SCC). It is frequently raised in disputes between shareholders.
The company itself can be prosecuted. Where an offence committed within the business, in the course of activities within its purpose, cannot be attributed to any individual because of deficient organisation, the company is liable to a fine of up to CHF 5 million (art. 102 para. 1 SCC). For money laundering and certain bribery offences in particular, it is liable regardless of individual liability if it failed to take all reasonable and necessary organisational measures to prevent them (para. 2). The interests of the company and its directors may then diverge, and separate counsel should be considered from the outset.
What should I do before the first interview?
Start by measuring what you do not know. The parties may inspect the file at the latest after the accused’s first interview and the gathering of the main evidence by the prosecutor (art. 101 para. 1 CrimPC). The prosecutor usually already has the complaint and the complainant’s documents.
The accused is not obliged to incriminate himself and may refuse to cooperate (art. 113 para. 1 CrimPC). The case goes on regardless (para. 2), so silence does not stop anything, but it avoids locking yourself into a version given blind. A lawyer may attend the police interview and ask questions (art. 159 para. 1 CrimPC). Whether to speak, and on what, is decided with counsel, case by case. And never send the prosecutor a written statement “to clarify matters” before seeing the file.
What if the police search our offices?
Request sealing without delay. The holder who objects to the seizure of documents, recordings or other items on a ground of protection under art. 264 CrimPC must request sealing within three days of their being secured. During that time, and once sealed, the authority may neither examine nor use them. If the prosecutor does not apply to have the seals lifted within 20 days, the items are returned (art. 248 para. 1 and 3 CrimPC, as in force since 1 January 2024).
Communications between the accused and his defence lawyer cannot in principle be seized, nor those between another person and a lawyer authorised to represent clients in court who is not himself accused in the case (art. 264 para. 1 let. a and d CrimPC). The text refers to lawyers within the meaning of the Lawyers Act. In-house counsel are not mentioned. A half-page protocol, known to reception and management, on who receives the investigators, who calls the lawyer and where the servers are, avoids many mistakes on the day.
For in-house counsel and foreign groups
If the Geneva entity belongs to a group, coordinate before anyone abroad speaks to the authorities or produces documents. Check which documents are protected under Swiss rules rather than assuming that privilege as understood at headquarters applies. Parties domiciled abroad must give an address for service in Switzerland (art. 87 para. 2 CrimPC).
Key deadlines
- 3 days. Request for sealing after a search or seizure (art. 248 para. 1 CrimPC).
- 20 days. The prosecutor must apply to lift the seals, otherwise the items are returned (art. 248 para. 3 CrimPC).
- 10 days. Appeal against a freezing order or other appealable decision of the prosecutor (art. 396 para. 1 CrimPC).
- 10 days. Objection to a penalty order (art. 354 para. 1 CrimPC).
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a white collar crime lawyer for a “person providing information” summons?
It is strongly advisable. This status applies in particular to someone who could turn out to be a perpetrator or participant, and to a company’s representatives and employees (art. 178 let. d and g CrimPC). You are not obliged to testify (art. 180 para. 1 CrimPC), and what you say may matter if your status changes later.
Can I refuse to answer questions in a Swiss criminal investigation?
Yes. An accused person is not obliged to incriminate himself and may refuse to cooperate (art. 113 para. 1 CrimPC). He must be told so at the start of the first interview, otherwise the interview cannot be used (art. 158 CrimPC).
What should a company do during a police search in Switzerland?
Not obstruct the search, note what is taken, and request within three days that protected documents and data, such as communications with a lawyer, be sealed (art. 248 para. 1 and 264 CrimPC). As long as the seals have not been lifted by a court, the prosecutor cannot examine them (art. 248 CrimPC).
Can the company be prosecuted as well as its directors?
Yes, where no individual can be held responsible because of deficient organisation. For money laundering and certain bribery offences in particular, it is liable regardless of individual liability if it failed to take reasonable organisational measures. The fine can reach CHF 5 million (art. 102 SCC).
How does an investigation end?
By dismissal where no sufficient suspicion is established, by a penalty order if the facts are admitted or established and the sentence envisaged does not exceed 180 daily penalty units or six months’ custody, or by an indictment (art. 319 and 352 CrimPC). An accused who is acquitted or whose case is dismissed is entitled to compensation (art. 429 CrimPC).
Legal basis
Swiss Criminal Code (SCC): art. 102, 138, 146 and 158. Criminal Procedure Code (CrimPC): art. 87, 101, 113, 158, 159, 178, 180, 248, 263, 264, 319, 352, 354, 396 and 429.
Sources: State of Geneva, crime figures for 2025 (23 March 2026). Swiss Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code on Fedlex.
About this type of case
See our page criminal defence lawyer in Geneva and, for prevention, our page business lawyer in Geneva.
The first days, before the file is open, matter particularly in these cases. A first meeting lets us identify your status, the deadlines running and what must be protected at once. Matthias Traussnig worked at a Big Four firm and spent three years at the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office, and knows how an economic crime investigation is run there. See also Arrested in Geneva, how long can detention last and Summoned to a hearing in Geneva. To discuss your situation: +41 22 512 76 00 or use the contact form.