Swiss ex-cop stole $365K from parking meters for casino trips with mistress
A former municipal police officer in Basel-Country has been given a two-year suspended sentence for stealing 365,000 Swiss francs from a city parking meter. The thefts took place over nearly two decades, with the funds reportedly spent on casino visits with a mistress. Meanwhile, similar cases of parking meter fraud have emerged elsewhere in Europe.
The ex-officer systematically diverted money from a parking meter in Basel-Country between 2004 and 2023. Investigations revealed that he used the stolen funds—totalling 365,000 francs—to finance trips to casinos in Jura and Basel with his mistress. His sentence remains non-custodial, though the verdict is not yet legally binding.
This case surpasses a previous incident in Richterswil, Zurich, where a police chief embezzled 144,000 francs. It also echoes a larger fraud in Kempten, Germany, where a municipal employee and his partner allegedly stole around 1.34 million euros from parking meters between 2020 and 2025. The German suspect had administrative access to the machines, enabling the prolonged theft. In 2024, Basel-City faced a different parking meter scam: fake QR codes were placed on machines, redirecting payments to an unknown account. The issue highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in cash-handling systems, even as Switzerland reinforces its commitment to physical currency. A recent federal constitutional amendment now guarantees cash availability, following a public initiative. Workplace theft, however, isn't limited to parking meters. At Ringier's offices, basic supplies like toilet paper, milk, and coffee beans have reportedly disappeared, showing that petty theft remains a persistent issue across sectors.
The Basel-Country case underscores the risks of long-term financial mismanagement by trusted officials. While the ex-officer's sentence awaits final confirmation, the incident joins a pattern of parking meter frauds in Europe. Switzerland's legal steps to protect cash transactions may help prevent future abuses, though smaller-scale thefts continue in other settings.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
