Facts
The present proceedings have their basis in the former GDR and its reunification with the FRG. The former SED party had assets abroad that were held in trust by [B.] , including the [W. AG] , whose sole board member from 1983-1992 was the defendant [A.] . The [W. AG] and the [X.] Institution (acting through [B.] ) jointly managed a loan from the SED to the Greek company [Y.] A.E. In October 1990, a final payment was received from [Y.] A.E., which the [W. AG] reported to the [X.] Institution as repayment of the loan. [B.] then handed the defendant a cash amount of CHF 314,755.45 for safekeeping. After the reunification of Germany, the Treuhandanstalt was entrusted with the administration of the assets of the GDR parties and organizations. The plaintiff, the Federal Agency for Special Tasks Related to Unification, demanded that the defendant reimburse CHF 201,502.90, as [B.] was no longer entitled to dispose of the funds at the time of the transfer to him, and the defendant should have known this.Considerations
The Federal Court held that, according to the binding findings of the lower instance, a deposit contract with elements of a mandate contract was concluded between the [X.] Institution and the defendant, which is subject to Swiss law. The plaintiff has become the creditor of the defendant as the assignee of the [X.] Institution. The defendant has transferred the…