Prosecutor from Basel criticizes Lucerne counterpart

Former Basel prosecutor and chief of police there has criticized his counterpart in Lucerne for failing to pursue the case against Zug cantonal government member Beat Villiger after it was alleged he allowed a long-standing woman friend who did not have a licence to drive a car registered under his name and backdated a relevant document.

The Basel prosecutor Markus Mohler said that there were numerous contradictions in the documentation relating to the case. “These have not been explained, but they should have been,” he said, adding how he felt Villiger should have been charged, the level of suspicion on both cases being very high. Indeed, according to the Zuger Zeitung, this opinion is shared by a number of others who have had access to the relevant documentation.

For his part, Micheal Bucher of the prosecution service in Lucerne said that the likelihood of Villiger being exonerated was higher than being convicted.

The Lucerne authority pointed out that the trust Villiger had in his woman friend in relation to the driving licence issue was enough not to pursue this matter, whereas Mohler questioned the depth of this trust if Villiger had had to enquire of the police, as he did, as to whether she had a valid driving licence or not. Mohler also criticised the Lucerne authorities for failing to charge the pair over the alleged backdating of a document relating to the sale of the said car from Villiger to his woman friend.

It has also been revealed that, in his conversation with reporters of the online Republik journal which broke the news, Villiger said if the story was published (in these days immediately prior to elections onSunday when he was seeking a fourth term in office) he might as well resign.

For its part, the CVP party of the canton of Zug issued a statement, as of Tuesday, saying that it regretted such a news item had caused concern among the population so soon before elections were to take place. It declined to comment on the case at present as it was not in possession of the full facts, other than to say what good work Villiger had done “and that he deserved our respect and trust”.

Speaking in her role as deputy chair of the CVP party, Monika Barmet said she had only had e.mail contact with Villiger since news of the story broke, but that she was hoping to be able to speak with him before Sunday and subsequently be able to concentrate on the elections.

Villiger has since responded to written questions submitted by a journalist of the  a journalist of the Zuger Zeitung.

When asked about how he had reacted to all the sudden media attention he was getting, he said it was putting him under considerable strain, particularly in having to talk about what he felt was a private matter and because he thought that the decision of the Lucerne authorities in February not to prosecute him was the end of the matter.

One of the questions the director of public safety declined to answer related to his asking the Lucerne police whether the woman in question had a driving licence or not. Did he not realise that, in so doing, he was he was putting them in an awkward situation?

When asked that he must have realised the matter would at some time be made public, he said he did not think this was the case. “There are such things as official secrets, one’s private life, and confidentiality. When I took out the court order, it was to prevent false accusations about me being published. Once these are made public, they tend to stick, whether one is innocent or guilty,” he said.

When asked if he would like to give to give further details about his relationship with the woman in question, again he declined so to do.

When asked about the date on the document relating to the sale of his car, he said the agreement to sell had been made orally in spring of 2017 and in writing with a signature at a date before the initial police check.

Was it true that even after the Lucerne authorities had decided not to proceed with the case that he asked them to look into it again?
“After the press had contacted me, I wanted to make it quite clear I had nothing to hide. I was assured by the prosecution service in Lucerne that all had been done correctly.” Again, he emphasised he regarded the investigation by the Lucerne police into him as a private matter and that his work as a member of the cantonal government had never been adversely affected by it.

He did say, however, that his family knew about it, and that he had informed his fellow members of the cantonal government last Tuesday. He had not done so before, as he did not think it was necessary.

It is thought Villiger will make a statement as to his future following the results of the elections on Sunday.