The treasury is at the end

In the Salamander and New Haven fraud cases, the verdicts have been handed down: The main defendant, Mario Staggl, must go to prison.

In the end, even a psychological assessment didn't help: The defense cited a difficult

childhood and a narcissistic personality disorder caused by a strict father to explain Mario Staggl's actions. To no avail. In mid-July, the trustee was sentenced to six and a half years in prison by the Liechtenstein Regional Court for breach of trust, commercial fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering.  

Staggl had paid for a Bentley, school fees for his children, catering for parties and the maintenance costs for his properties with the funds that he should have been managing for his clients at the Salamander Trust in Zurich and the New Haven Trust in Schaan . 

There were thirteen private plaintiffs in the case. Some lost undeclared funds, others their life savings. Staggl accepted the verdict calmly. He confessed and cooperated with the justice system. His partner, MG, escaped with three years in prison for breach of trust. The board of directors of Salamander and New Haven Trust had covered up Staggl's schemes, but later set the ball rolling by filing a complaint.  

Damage of 30 million francs

The investigation against Staggl's ex-wife, Nicole Staggl-Öhninger, has been discontinued. The total damages amount to approximately 30 million Swiss francs. Less than two million Swiss francs are likely to be recoverable: Staggl had transferred some of his real estate to a family foundation to protect it from the reach of the judiciary. "It is scandalous that the assets in the foundation cannot be accessed by those closely related to Staggl," says Ian Burns, protector of the damaged Aspasia Trust, who criticizes the verdict as "disproportionately lenient for the damage." 

'Mario Staggl has already attracted the attention of the judicial authorities once before: In 2008, he was charged, along with former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld, with aiding and abetting tax evasion. Since then, he has been considered a fugitive by the US judiciary. Nevertheless, the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority granted him the "fit and proper" certificate required to practice as a trustee. The latter, at least, is unlikely to happen again following the latest ruling.