The Moral and Legal Responsibility of Economic Actors

Four years after Switzerland’s federal prosecutor warned that trading looted commodities could amount to a war crime, Alain Werner says the warning has produced no indictment. The lawyer and director of Civitas Maxima argues that this gap demands renewed attention to the responsibility of economic actors.

In a column published by Le Temps, Werner recalls comments by Stefan Blättler, the Swiss attorney general, in a 2022 opinion piece. Blättler wrote that “the commercialisation of looted raw materials could constitute a war crime” and said his office was pursuing proceedings to develop legal precedent.

Blättler also warned that looting might qualify as a predicate offense for money laundering. He wrote, “we cannot exclude that looting could constitute a predicate offense to money laundering.” Werner says that, four years later, none of the procedures had, to his knowledge, resulted in an indictment. Nor had authorities announced a new case targeting an economic actor for alleged contributions to international crimes.

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the commercialisation of looted raw materials could constitute a war crime

Werner contrasts Switzerland’s record with proceedings now taking place in several European countries. One important case concerns activities conducted from Geneva, giving the issue a direct Swiss dimension.

His conclusion is explicit: responsibility for conduct by economic actors in Switzerland should not depend on financial interests or foreign-policy considerations. The decision, he argues, belongs to the competent judicial authorities.

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we cannot exclude that looting could constitute a predicate offense to money laundering