Facts
The case concerns the confiscation of cash in the amount of 34,900 CHF as well as the compensation for detention for the appellant [A.] . On February 5, 2018, he was checked at the border crossing in St. Margrethen upon departure, and the cash he had on him as well as hidden in the vehicle was found to be heavily contaminated with cocaine. The public prosecutor's office then opened criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering, but discontinued them on January 27, 2020. It ordered the confiscation of the cash and awarded [A.] compensation for detention of 2,500 CHF.
[A.] appealed against this order. The Indictment Chamber of the Canton of St. Gallen lifted the confiscation of the cash and decided that the cash should be returned to [A.] . It also awarded him a total compensation for detention of 11,000 CHF plus 5% interest from February 5, 2018.
The public prosecutor's office appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the lower court did not sufficiently justify the lifting of the confiscation of the cash. While the lower court also assumed that the cash originated from drug trafficking and the requirements for confiscation under Art. 70 para. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code were met, it lifted the confiscation on the grounds that [A.] had acquired the cash without knowledge of its illicit origin and had provided an equivalent consideration.
The Federal Supreme Court considers this reasoning to be insufficient, as the lower court did not sufficiently clarify the facts underlying the confiscation decision. In particular, there are no explanations regarding [A.] 's statements on the acquisition of the cash, such as the operation of a bakery in his home country and the flow of funds through an agency and…