Facts
The Federal Court has rendered a judgment in a case where a borrower received a loan for the purchase of a property, but used the money for his own needs. The lender had granted the loan on condition that the borrower use it for the purchase of the property. The borrower was convicted of abuse of trust.
The facts of the case are as follows: the borrower, [F.], had significant debts and no regular income. He requested a loan from [W.] to purchase a property, promising to resell it at a profit. [W.] granted the loan of 30,000 francs, but [F.] used the money for his own needs.
The cantonal court convicted [F.] of abuse of trust, as he had used the money contrary to the agreed purpose. [F.] appealed to the Federal Court, arguing that the conviction for abuse of trust was contrary to federal law.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the use of a loan contrary to the agreed purpose constitutes an abuse of trust. It recalled that abuse of trust assumes that the trustee has received a good with the obligation to conserve or return it.
The Federal Court considered that, in the case of a loan granted for a specific purpose, the debtor may be required to conserve the equivalent value of the loan until he uses it for the agreed purpose. If the debtor uses the loan for another purpose, he may be convicted of abuse of trust.
The Federal Court also examined the…