An anonymous email sent to the US Embassy in Bern during the World Economic Forum in Davos raised suspicions about an alleged plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump, prompting the Swiss authorities to open an urgent investigation that ended months later with no evidence found to support these allegations.
According to an investigation conducted by the German channel 1 (ARD) in cooperation with the Tamedia Media Group, on January 21, 2026, the US embassy received an email that stated: “We would like to inform you that there is an urgent threat to the life of President Trump.”
The sender of the message claimed that a World Economic Forum employee was an “Iranian agent” and that she had coordinated an operation to assassinate the president while he was participating in the forum. At that time, according to a report by the German Tagesschw website, Trump was on board Air Force One heading to Switzerland, before arriving in Zurich and from there to Davos. The warning came just two days after the World Economic Forum withdrew the invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to participate in the Davos meetings, following increasing pressure and criticism.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Switzerland explained that it treated the report "very seriously", opened an investigation on charges of carrying out preparatory actions for murder, and took immediate measures to verify the information received. The employee in question, a woman of Iranian origin who has lived for years in a Western country, had spent only about three and a half months working in the Information Technology Department at the headquarters of the World Economic Forum in Geneva.
On the evening of the day after the anonymous letter arrived, the employee was summoned to the reception at the Forum's headquarters in Geneva, where the cantonal police were waiting for her. At 6:05 p.m., she was arrested and taken for interrogation. According to a report by the German "Tageschau" website, the woman was subjected to an investigation that lasted more than six hours until the early morning hours, during which she denied all the accusations against her. At the same time, Federal Criminal Police officers searched her office and her locker at the workplace, and confiscated her personal phone, work phone, and computer.
Investigators also examined her social media accounts, but did not find any indications of espionage activity or links to support the allegations contained in the email. However, she was not released immediately after the interrogation ended, while the US President continued his participation in the forum’s activities for more than 24 hours, during which he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and participated in multiple political sessions and discussions.
After a detention that lasted 23 hours and 55 minutes, the employee was released. Her release came just minutes after Trump left Switzerland to return to the United States. The investigations continued for several months, but did not yield any evidence of an assassination plot or links between the employee and the Iranian regime. Four months later, the Federal Prosecutor's Office informed the woman of the cessation of criminal proceedings and the closure of the case.
A spokesman for the office said that the suspicions “have not been proven,” stressing that the decision to stop the investigation included all aspects of the accusation. Investigations also showed that the employee was not accredited to participate in the Davos events and did not have access to the forum’s protocols or security arrangements. The Swiss authorities also confirmed that the woman is not an agent of the Iranian regime, contrary to what was stated in the anonymous letter.
Despite her acquittal, the employee was fired from her job at the World Economic Forum the day immediately after her release. The forum stated that the decision was due to a violation of internal confidentiality guidelines, without providing additional details regarding the nature of the violation. Investigations revealed that the forum informed the authorities that the dismissal decision was not related to the accusations contained in the anonymous email. When asked for comment, the Forum declined to delve into the details of the case, saying only that it does not comment on confidential personnel matters.
The woman later demanded financial compensation and the recovery of her legal fees, the total value of which exceeded 130,000 euros. However, the Federal Prosecutor's Office rejected most of the claims, while she received a portion of her legal fees and compensation for the period of detention. The World Economic Forum also agreed to pay her salary for an additional four months, and a non-disclosure agreement was reached between the two parties. The employee and her lawyer declined to comment on the case when the media contacted them.
In contrast, the identity of the person who sent the email remains unknown. According to investigations, the electronic account was created with a Swiss service provider a few minutes before the message was sent, and was not used again after that. Geneva prosecutors opened a separate criminal investigation into submitting false reports.
