Fake donations to Maudet: Geneva prosecutors open investigation

Pierre Maudet, the Geneva state councillor re-elected in 2023 after being removed from the cantonal executive and the FDP party over a controversial trip to Abu Dhabi, is again under a cloud of suspicion. His party, Liberté et justice sociale, is already facing an independent inquiry into alleged favoritism in hiring at the cantonal health office, and three members have already left its ranks. Now a criminal case opened by the public prosecutor adds to the pressure, concerning donations of unclear origin used to finance Maudet's last election campaign.

The donations in question total more than 20,000 francs and formally came from five donors, a practice banned under Geneva law when the donors are fictitious. The funds were collected by an association supporting the minister's political activity, with the legitimacy of the donations certified by a fiduciary firm run by a close supporter of Maudet. Four of the payments were attributed to historical figures from the canton's past, including James Fazy, the 19th-century radical leader regarded as one of the architects of modern Geneva. None of the purported donors were still alive.

From administrative sanctions to a criminal complaint

Behind these historical names were in fact pseudonyms. The association and the fiduciary firm have already received administrative sanctions, a first for Geneva, against which appeals are still pending before the Federal Supreme Court. But a fifth suspicious donation, worth 5,000 francs, is registered under the name of a sitting judge, who denies ever having given anything to the state councillor. According to information from RTS, the judge filed a criminal complaint last year.

On the basis of these elements, the cantonal public prosecutor decided to proceed. In late September, searches were carried out and documents seized at the premises of the association and the fiduciary firm. The firm's manager is under investigation for forgery of documents, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. The association's president currently holds the status of a person called to provide information, a position between witness and suspect. The presumption of innocence applies to both.

Contacted by RTS, the judge did not respond, nor did Maudet, who is not currently implicated in this criminal proceeding.