Graubünden whistleblower to stand trial again

Adam Quadroni, 56, must appear in court again on 4 and 5 November. The trial will take place before the regional court of Bassa Engadina/Val Müstair.

The former construction entrepreneur became known for reporting to the Competition Commission in 2012 the system of rigged public tenders in the Engadin, exposing what became known as the Graubünden contracts scandal.

At the end of April, Quadroni had already appeared in court, both as a victim and as a defendant, over police interventions in family disputes. He was acquitted in that case.

The charges

The indictment, drawn up by special prosecutor Urs Sutter, charges Quadroni with a long list of bankruptcy and asset offences: mismanagement, repeated fraud, forgery of documents, reduction of assets to the detriment of creditors, misappropriation of assets subject to judicial proceedings, fraudulent bankruptcy and fraud in seizure proceedings.

The alleged offences date back to the years up to 2016, when Quadroni headed two construction companies in Lower Engadin, which later collapsed under the weight of debt. He is presumed innocent.

Quadroni has long claimed to have been targeted by the State because of his reports: his companies' bids were not considered in the award of public contracts and, on a personal level, he was forcibly admitted in 2017 to the psychiatric clinic in Chur amid a dispute with his ex-wife. That admission later proved unjustified.

Since 2019 he has sought three million francs in compensation from the State through debt-collection orders, a claim backed by a petition signed by 4,231 citizens. Last year the Council of State rejected any compensation for Quadroni, while acknowledging his major contribution to the canton and the Engadin municipalities: his revelations put an end to the illicit sharing of public contracts and allowed the canton and several municipalities to recover nine million francs through out-of-court settlements with the companies involved.