swissoppress

Alexander Eckenstein and the law firm Hotz & Goldmann

Not being experts in the field of charity and employing calculation methods foreign to the practice of nonprofit organizations, lawyer Eckenstein submitted a request to the government authority ESA to initiate criminal proceedings against the leadership of SOS GERASJUTA STIFTUNG. His claim rested upon contentious data asserting a supposed ratio of 85-88% administrative expenses to 12-15% aid. The lawyer from Hotz & Goldmann acted deliberately with the clear intent of seizing the foundation’s assets and destroying it. 

After Eckenstein transferred all the money from SOS GERASJUTA STIFTUNG to his own account, he filed for the liquidation of the foundation in the official Handelsregister. Neither Mr. Gerasjuta, as the founder and director, nor the board members were able to prevent this financial and organizational ruin, as state body ESA had granted full authority to the aforementioned lawyer.

Independent courts in the EU and in the United States should conduct a thorough investigation to:

• Assess the significant moral and material damages caused by Alexander Eckenstein;
• Demand compensation from Alexander Eckenstein and individuals, involved in the forced liquidation of Sergej Gerasjuta’s businesses and charitable enterprises;
• Impose strict sanctions on Alexander Eckenstein that deliberately obstructed Sergej Gerasjuta’s charitable activities in Switzerland, as well as on his associates and family members.

Alexander Eckenstein should be held accountable for infringing on the right to engage in charitable activities, destroying SOS GERASJUTA STIFTUNG, and bearing responsibility for the deaths of impoverished and sick Ukrainians who had received medical assistance from the foundation. This accountability should be pursued through:

1. Filing a lawsuit in a U.S. court by victims currently residing in the United States.
2. Imposing sanctions through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. government, and Congress under the Global Magnitsky Act, as well as through the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, due to the liquidation of the foundation that led to these deaths.

Swissoppress is currently preparing a lawsuit in a U.S. court and a petition to impose sanctions on Alexander Eckenstein and the law firm Hotz & Goldmann.

Under the pseudonym Kris Kristi, Mr. Gerasjuta wrote the first part of his book,
Human Heritage Museum. Foundations,
in whose penultimate chapter he began recounting his persecution in Switzerland. He is currently working on a sequel, where he will explore these topics in detail. We plan to publish the book in multiple languages worldwide.

All the charitable organizations Sergej Gerasjuta established to assist impoverished and sick people in Ukraine have been destroyed.

Weg zur Rettung, SOS Gerasjuta, SOS GERASJUTA STIFTUNG, Jugendprojekt, and the association Retten Sie Leben (Save lives) operated legally within the framework of their statutory activities. They maintained strict accounting records, which were supervised by independent professional auditing firms in both Ukraine and Switzerland.

There is no free market for philanthropy in Switzerland.

Currently, Mr. Gerasjuta is being prosecuted in a fabricated case. His business and personal accounts in Switzerland and Ukraine have been frozen. From a successful leader, philanthropist, and businessman, Sergej Gerasjuta has been turned into a destitute, homeless bankrupt.

Helena Antonio – heads the ESA

the governmental body overseeing foundations in Switzerland. The process of banning our organization began in 2015 following a negative report on Switzerland’s main television channel, SRF 1, and was completed despite our fully documented responses to every written request.

Alexander Eckenstein and Helena Antonio collaborated in the destruction of SOS GERASJUTA STIFTUNG. First, Eckenstein prepared a biased report claiming a 12-15% aid to 85-88% administrative expense ratio, using non-standard calculation methods not typically applied in the charitable sector. Based on this report, Helena Antonio, acting on behalf of ESA, instructed the same lawyer to draft a criminal complaint against our foundation’s leadership. Mr. Gerasjuta’s offer to meet in person to clarify any misunderstandings was ignored without explanation.

Since 2009, we had diligently submitted annual reports to ESA, and for a decade—until the foundation’s dissolution—no objections were raised. Yet Helena Antonio eschewed consultation with a qualified auditor, whose consistent assessments revealed administrative costs ranging merely from 17% to 23%. Instead, she rested her judgment wholly upon Eckenstein’s counsel, heedless of his lack of expertise in charitable accounting.

Helena Antonio personally sanctioned Eckenstein’s appropriation of SOS GERASJUTA STIFTUNG’s financial resources, which he siphoned to his own account before effecting the liquidation of our foundation.

During the court hearings in the EU and in the United States, the obstruction of our charitable fundraising campaigns will be examined step by step from their very inception. A thorough analysis will be conducted of the actions of all individuals who have negatively influenced them.

The following individuals will testify in court as witnesses:

• Our employees in Switzerland and Ukraine, who are eyewitnesses to the events. They will provide an insider’s perspective on our work and present detailed reports and necessary documents.
• Needy patients whose health conditions worsened after they stopped receiving vital medications from our organization.
• Hospital doctors whose patients survived thanks to the life-saving support we provided.
• Family members of deceased individuals residing in Ukraine, EU countries, and the USA, whose relatives passed away as a result of the ban on our humanitarian activities in Switzerland.

Our independent auditor confirmed in the annual reports that administrative expenses accounted for a reasonable 17–23% of the collected donations. However, the supervisory authority, ESA in Bern, conducted its own unconventional calculations, asserting that only 12-15% of funds reached those in need, while a staggering 85-88% was allocated to administration. These figures were derived using non-standard methods, unrecognized in the charitable sector, where aid projects are typically evaluated in their entirety rather than based solely on direct payments to individuals. Relying on these contested numbers, the ESA imposed a prohibition on our foundation’s activities.

The principle behind the unconventional calculation lies in attorney Eckenstein’s use of accounting methods that charitable organizations, including ZEWO-members, do not employ in their financial reporting. Typically, foundations classify entire projects as „aid,“ encompassing various administrative expenses — such as portions of staff salaries or rent for spaces used in project implementation. Additionally, all funds spent in the recipient country are recorded as „aid.“
In our case, however, Eckenstein counted only the direct payments to those in need, excluding all other costs tied with charitable activities. This approach resulted in a skewed ratio of 12-15% aid versus 85-88% administrative expenses. If this same method were applied to other organizations, their figures would undoubtedly be comparable.

An independent auditor, adhering to professional standards, conducted a proper assessment and confirmed that our actual administrative expenses ranged from 17% to 23% across different years. Nevertheless, ZEWO and ESA endorsed the attorney’s flawed calculations. Their intent was clear — to eliminate a competitor. ZEWO and third parties then disseminated biased data through commissioned media publications, branding our foundation as self-serving rather than charitable. Though Mr. Gerasjuta’s salary was average for Switzerland and significantly lower than that of leaders of ZEWO-affiliated organizations, the press—under ZEWO’s influence—deliberately concealed this fact, misleading the public.

• Legal action against Alexander Eckenstein – our goal is to expose hostile actions of Alexander Eckenstein and ensure the free operation of independent organizations in Switzerland.
• Imposition of sanctions – we call for sanctions to be imposed against Swiss individuals and legal entities involved in the liquidation of Mr. Gerasjuta’s charitable organizations.
• Journalistic investigation – we call for an investigation to identify all those responsible for depriving Mr. Gerasjuta of his right to engage in charitable activities.
• Documentary film – we plan to produce a film about the perpetrators and victims whose charitable efforts in Switzerland were crushed

We made every effort to ensure full transparency: in Switzerland, our accounting was overseen by an independent Swiss auditor, and in Ukraine, by a Ukrainian one. Completed reports, prepared by a professional auditor, were submitted for review to the supervisory authority ESA in Bern and made publicly available on our website. What could be more transparent? But ZEWO claimed: ‚Not transparent,‘ and all the media, without conducting an objective analysis, simply repeated this statement.

Third Party
Behind all our persecution stands a specific third party — an individual or group —  who manages this process. They ordered and financed negative media reports, caused the closure of our charitable activities, and organized Mr. Gerasjuta’s criminal prosecution. This third party wields enormous power — both political and financial. Everyone obeys them: journalists, prosecutors, judges, and even Switzerland’s top leadership. Although the prosecutor’s investigation has been ongoing for over five years with no charges brought against Mr. Gerasjuta, this third party continues to:

• Control the entire process of our persecution
• Intimidate our lawyer and everyone who tries to help us
• Pressure the prosecutor’s office to keep the case open — thus tying our hands, because:
  a) Mr. Gerasjuta’s personal accounts and the accounts of our organizations remain blocked
  b) Mr. Gerasjuta can be arrested at any moment on fabricated charges
• Instruct banks to close our accounts (UBS, Postfinance, Berner Kantonalbank)
• Prolong Mr. Gerasjuta’s bankruptcy process, preventing him from engaging in any economic activity.
  

This third party has systematically and methodically destroyed all our charitable organizations and Mr. Gerasjuta’s personal business. They remain in the shadows, acting through journalists, banks, lawyers, and government officials.

sergej gerasjuta (under the pseudonym Kris Kristi) has already written his first book, Human Heritage Museum. Basics, in German and Russian. A second book is now being prepared for publication. It will reveal the whole truth about how ZEWO-led Swiss charitable organizations deviously and dishonestly eliminate their competitors. The book will be supported by documents, facts, and eyewitness accounts — from our employees, hospital doctors, our beneficiaries, and relatives of the deceased.

Settlement Agreement

As the aggrieved party, Sergej Gerasjuta is open to considering the possibility of a settlement agreement. Those responsible for the destruction of our charitable organizations and discrimination must provide fair compensation for the material and moral damage inflicted. This will serve as redress for all the suffering he has endured, enable the restoration of his charitable activities, allow him to regain his lost business, and assist those in need harmed by their destructive actions.
If a settlement agreement is reached, we will forgo the implementation of all previously stated points.
However, if legal proceedings are initiated, they will be pursued to the very end. Charitable and public activities aimed at combating human rights violations in Switzerland will continue and expand further.