Crans-Montana: owners of fire-hit venue under scrutiny on two fronts

Investigations into Jacques and Jessica Moretti, owners of the Le Constellation venue in Crans-Montana, are continuing on several fronts. The venue was destroyed by a fire that killed 41 people and injured 115.

In Sion, a former employee of the bar is due to be questioned on Monday, 31 August. Her testimony could help establish how aware the couple were of the fire risks. At the same time, the Morettis are also under investigation for suspected money laundering and fraud, in a case linked to the financial management of their businesses.

According to the weekly Le Matin Dimanche, the former employee will be heard as a person called to provide information. Her questioning could help establish how much the Morettis knew, before the tragedy, about the risk of flames spreading rapidly inside the venue.

Questions over financial dealings

The SonntagsZeitung has focused on the financial side of the case, examining the accounting of the couple's businesses. According to the Zurich Sunday paper, the records contain suspicious instructions, an unusual tax practice and apparently inflated salaries. Valais prosecutors have opened proceedings against the operators of the Constellation on suspicion of money laundering and fraud.

Among the episodes reported by the paper is a message in which Jessica Moretti allegedly asked her trustee to alter a document with correction fluid, to hide the wording referring to a rent advance. According to a document seen by the SonntagsZeitung, Moretti allegedly wrote: «Stampa il documento, copri quel punto con il bianchetto e scansionalo di nuovo. Non si vedrà nulla» ("Print the document, cover that spot with correction fluid and scan it again. You won't see anything"). The receipt concerned equity intended for the purchase and renovation of another restaurant, the Vieux Chalet, in Lens.

To secure the financing, the Morettis had to show the Banque Cantonale du Valais and the land registry that they held 250,000 francs in unencumbered equity. According to the SonntagsZeitung, a substantial part of that sum actually came from a loan granted by a company that was itself heavily indebted.

The case raises questions about how banks verify declared equity before granting financing, and about the responsibility of operators of a public venue for its safety.