Swiss lawmakers file bribery complaint after gifts to Trump reduced tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS_Nathan Howard

Bloomberg reports Swiss politicians have filed a criminal complaint with the country’s top prosecutor over a Rolex table clock and an engraved gold bar that business executives presented to President Donald Trump shortly before he agreed to cut tariffs on the country’s exports.

“Two Swiss MPs, Greta Gysin and Raphael Mahaim, urged the Office of the Attorney-General to investigate whether the gifts were tantamount to bribery of foreign officials, according to the Nov. 26 letter,” reports Bloomberg. “The gold bar was worth at least 100,000 Swiss francs ($124,000) and the clock could be worth as much as 25,000 francs ($30,000) the politicians wrote, citing estimates from the industry press.”

“The average person is rightly questioning the legality of these gifts offered to the American president in order to get him to unblock a trade negotiation file,” according to the letter from Gysin and Mahaim.

The Swiss Attorney General’s office confirmed receipt of the complaint in addition to two other complaints filed against ‘persons unknown.’ It said it will examine the complaints, but added that initial scrutiny does not mean an official investigation has been opened.

Bloomberg reports the complaints reflect growing criticism among left-leaning politicians over lobbying that led to Switzerland securing a 39 percent reduction to the tariffs that Trump hit Switzerland with on Aug. 1. Bloomberg said “a clutch of high-profile Swiss business executives paid a visit to Trump in the Oval office earlier this month where the gifts were presented.”

One critic pointed out on X that Swiss lawmakers are demanding inquiries while “in America, the President being ‘gifted’ a literal solid gold bar, which was definitely not a quid pro quo to getting tariffs on Swiss goods lowered … was barely a one day story.”

“Just another instance where foreign governments see foul play while our justice system just completely steps on its own d——,” responded another X user.

Swiss executives’ meeting with Trump was in coordination with Swiss authorities, however, reports Bloomberg, coming just weeks after Trump’s 39 percent tariff handed Switzerland its first export contraction in more than two years. Less than two weeks after the Oval Office meeting, Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on Swiss imports to 15 percent.

Read the Bloomberg report at this link.

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