“Gold bar diplomacy”: Swiss politicians call Trump gifts a possible bribe

Two lawmakers from Swiss Green Party have formally asked Switzerland’s public prosecutor to investigate whether luxury gifts including a gold bar and a Rolex watch offered to President Trump by Swiss business leaders violated the country’s anti-bribery laws.

The gifts came during a November delegation to Washington by executives from firms including MSC, Rolex, Richemont and MKS PAMP, among others. Ten days later, the U.S. and Switzerland agreed to a framework deal that slashes U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods from 39% to 15%. Critics in Bern are now calling the timing and the gifts themselves deeply suspect. 

In their letter to prosecutors, the two lawmakers argued that the gifts may have constituted an “undue advantage” under Switzerland’s criminal code. Under that statute, offering or giving a foreign public official an advantage in return for favorable treatment can trigger criminal charges, potentially carrying prison time or fines.

Representatives for the businesses involved say the gifts were legitimate diplomatic gestures, and sources close to the delegation maintain the visitors cleared the presents with White House ethics counsel, claiming the items were handed over to the Presidential Library rather than kept personally by Trump.

For now, the probe remains in its earliest stage: prosecutors have received the complaint, but have not yet opened formal proceedings. Meanwhile, political critics in Switzerland are framing the episode as a glaring example of elite influence-peddling and a warning sign for global trade-diplomacy norms.