19 acquitted in the Swissair Group collapse

BUELACH, Switzerland - A three-judge court acquitted 19 top executives and consultants yesterday who had been accused in the collapse of Switzerland's former national carrier, Swissair Group, and ordered the government to pay compensation totaling more than $2.5 million.

From the start, the defendants in Switzerland's largest corporate-fraud trial denied charges that included damaging creditors, mismanagement, making false statements, and forging documents. Some have blamed major Swiss banks and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States for the airline's downfall.

Former employees of the airline and others in the courtroom were angered by the ruling.

Swissair was abruptly grounded Oct. 2, 2001, after months of financial problems left it unable to pay for fuel and airport-landing fees. Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded worldwide. Thousands of employees and many shareholders lost their life savings.

Prosecutors sought a prison term for Mario Corti, the last chief executive officer of now-defunct parent SAirGroup, and a range of suspended sentences for 18 other airline executives, board members and consultants.

Besides the acquittal, the defendants will receive compensation payments ranging from $16,000 to $400,000 for Corti.

Prosecutors said they had yet to decide whether to appeal the acquittal before the 10-day deadline.

"The court's task was not to judge the reasons that led to the downfall of Swissair," Judge Andreas Fischer said, adding that "the court had to stick to the accusations brought by the indictment."

Many of the business decisions taken by the former board members and top managers appeared to be reasonable at the time, the judge said. The prosecution also failed to prove that the defendants' actions had damaged the company, Fischer added.

Daniel Vischer, a lawyer and union leader, said "the prosecution was an absolute fiasco."

Urs Eicher, speaking on behalf of a flight attendants union, said he was especially concerned about the court-ordered compensation, which taxpayers would ultimately have to pay.

"Those who suffered real damage, the small people who lost jobs or pension funds in the Swissair bankruptcy, will get nothing," he told Swiss TV.

Lawyers representing those charged in the case lauded the decision.

Most of the defendants did not testify because of ongoing civil suits brought by former employees and shareholders who seek hundreds of millions in compensation.