Crans-Montana fire: a lawyer requests an investigation into municipal finances

A lawyer for the victims of the deadly fire in a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, has asked the authorities for an investigation into municipal finances and the partial trusteeship of the municipality, we learned on Sunday.

Lawyer Sébastien Fanti confirmed this information to AFP from Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung.

Still in office, the president of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Féraud, is one of the 17 people placed under criminal investigation by the Valais prosecutor's office. He is being prosecuted, like the 16 other people, for “negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson”, following the tragedy that occurred on New Year's Eve in the Swiss ski resort, which left 41 dead and 115 injured.

“Putting under partial management” of the municipality

In his complaint addressed to the Valais Council of State on October 19 and consulted by AFP, Me Fanti calls into question “the ability of the Municipality to cope with the financial consequences of the fire” as well as “the way in which it prevents and manages this risk”. He requests the opening of an official investigation into the financial situation of Crans-Montana and the placing “under partial management” of the municipality concerning in particular its accounts and its financial planning in connection with the tragedy.

Among the other people placed under criminal investigation are elected or former municipal officials, employees or former employees of municipal services, as well as the French owners and managers of the Constellation, Jacques and Jessica Moretti. The fire in this bar, which occurred in the middle of New Year's Eve celebrations, mainly struck teenagers and young adults, including many foreigners, particularly Italians and French people.

The first elements of the investigation showed that the fire was started by sparks from “fountain” candles which ignited sound-absorbing foam on the ceiling of the basement of the bar. Ten months after this tragic fire, Jacques Moretti must be interviewed again on Monday by prosecutors.