Yahoo – AFP,
Nina Larson, 15 June 2014
 |
A bizarre
scandal is swirling around one of Switzerland's leading wine producers
after he
was arrested last week along with a computer hacker, a detective and
a spy (AFP
Photo/Jeff Pachoud)
|
Geneva
(AFP) - A bizarre scandal is swirling around one of Switzerland's leading wine
producers after he was arrested last week along with a computer hacker, a
detective and a spy.
Dominique
Giroud, 43, was taken into custody on Wednesday on suspicion of ordering the
hacking of computers belonging to journalists who were investigating him over
allegations of fraud.
He has been
remanded in custody until July 14. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up
to five years behind bars.
A
professional hacker, private detective and Swiss intelligence agent have also
been arrested in connection with the case, the Geneva prosecutor's office said
Friday.
Giroud,
whose company Giroud Vins is based in the southwestern canton of Valais --
Switzerland's largest wine-growing region -- has been dogged by scandals for
years.
His
reputation has been so tarnished that he has even tried to change the
business's name to Chateau Constellation, although it was rejected by regional
authorities.
Giroud
opened a small-scale business in 1995 with reportedly just 1.5 hectares of
vineyards to his name and saw that swell to an estate of around 50 hectares
over the next 20 years.
His
castle-like winery on the outskirts of Sion, Valais' largest town, opened its
doors in 2008 and is reportedly valued at around 15 million Swiss francs ($17
million, 12 million euros).
Giroud
claims to sell up to nine million litres of wine each year, and is estimated to
rake in around 50 million francs in sales, according to Swiss weekly Le Matin
Dimanche.
With his
ballooning fortune he sponsored numerous sports clubs across Switzerland, open
a restaurant in Singapore and start a chain of Wine Universe stores, the paper
reported on Sunday.
'Giroud
is Scarface'
The wine
producer is also said to be renowned for his ruthless tactics.
"Giroud
is Scarface," one unnamed Valais wine industry source told the paper,
referring to Al Pacino's hubristic mob boss character in the 1983 movie.
"He
thought he was God. He thought he was above everyone," another said, while
a third recalled how Giroud liked to brag that he alone could bring down both
Switzerland's banking and wine industries if he wanted to.
Swiss
authorities opened a tax fraud probe against him in 2011, and two years later
demanded he pay 9.54 million Swiss francs in back taxes.
In February
this year, national broadcaster RTS reported that he had illegally blended some
350,000 litres of wine between 2006 and 2009, passing it off as pure.
He also
tried -- and failed -- to stop two RTS documentaries about his business from
being aired last month.
The arrests
last week centre on alleged attempts to hack the accounts of journalists at RTS
and the Le Temps daily in an apparent bid to find the sources for their
reporting on Giroud.
The private
detective and the hacker say they carried out the spying on orders from their
long-time business associate, the intelligence agent -- also a childhood friend
of Giroud -- Le Matin Dimanche reported.
Both the
private detective and the hacker reportedly attempted the operation thinking
they were acting for the government.
The wine
producer's lawyers insist he never gave his blessing to the hacking, while the
agent has claimed through his lawyer that he had warned the group it was
illegal.
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