Avoid the fine with 20 francs: 61-year-old convicted in Zurich (cross-border guide)

Context

In a nutshell

• A 61-year-old from Zurich offered 20 francs to a controller
• The aim was to avoid a fine on SBB trains
• The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Confederation has issued a decree
• They incur a pecuniary penalty and high procedural expenses

Key facts

• What: Attempted bribery of a public official
• When: Facts reported in February 2026 by the Public Prosecutor's Office
• Where: Zurich
• Who: A 61-year-old passenger and an SBB controller
• Amount: 20 francs offered, 500 francs procedural costs

The judicial case involving a sixty-one-year-old Zurich citizen highlights the severity with which the Swiss justice system also prosecutes attempts at corruption of a modest economic magnitude. A passenger without a valid transport ticket for all the routes crossed tried to avoid a financial penalty by offering a twenty-franc banknote to the controller of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). Faced with the refusal of the travelling staff, who immediately identified the move as an illegal attempt at corruption, the man continued with verbal complaints. During the check, the passenger had invited the operator to remain calm, to let the completion of the offence form run and to accept the offer to have a coffee, receiving a clear refusal.

Federal Competence in Railway Controls

It may come as a surprise that an incident that occurred aboard a convoy

Operational details

The Economic Consequences of Criminal Conviction

The attempt to evade payment of the railway fine through a twenty-franc banknote proved extremely expensive for the Zurich citizen. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Confederation issued a specific decree of accusation, confirming the rumours circulated in the media and severely sanctioning the perpetrator of the act. The sentence provides for the payment of procedural costs quantified at five hundred francs. To this sum is added a total pecuniary penalty calculated on thirty daily rates, each set at one hundred and twenty francs, the execution of which, however, was conditionally suspended for a probationary period of two years. The use of a suspended sentence does not erase the seriousness of the criminal record associated with an active corruption offence, even when the material amount offered to the public official is of a marginal amount.

The reaction and verbal escalation on board

The episode was not limited to the offer of the twenty-franc banknote. According to investigative reports and journalistic reconstructions, the passenger without a regular ticket for the entire journey expressed strong verbal opposition to contesting the sanction. When he got off the train, the man allegedly directed heavy insults at the control staff, labeling them with offensive expressions related to alleged mafia associations. This behavior

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Key points

How to handle checks and disputes on public transport

When traveling on national railway trains or public transport within Swiss territory, handling a dispute related to an irregular or missing ticket requires strict adherence to precise procedures to avoid disproportionate legal consequences. If you receive a fine from the train crew, the correct course of action is to maintain a cooperative attitude, avoiding any attempt to informally bypass the penalty. Federal regulations applied by transport companies provide the possibility of submitting a formal complaint or requesting a subsequent verification of lost subscriptions or travel tickets at dedicated counters, without resorting to verbal or material offers addressed to the operators.

Checking travel documents and planning your journeys

To prevent penalties on national and cantonal rail connections, it is advisable to check in advance the validity of your travel document in relation to all zones crossed by the train. Those who regularly use public transport can consult official guides to optimize costs and learn about the fares applied by the various Swiss fare networks. For a complete overview of the cost of living and the management of expenses related to daily mobility and services in Switzerland, you can consult our in-depth articles dedicated to consumption and national transport.

To learn more about transport expenses and better plan the costs of daily mobility in Switzerland, consult our updated cost of living.

First day as a cross-border worker? Our practical guide walks you from cantonal registration to your first paycheck.

Source: tio.ch