A former secretary was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in Switzerland on Tuesday after embezzling nearly 500,000 Swiss francs belonging to her company in 2002 to pay for the services of a marabout (a traditional healer/spiritual guide).

A 34-year-old woman working as a secretary appeared in Swiss court on Tuesday. She faced charges of breach of trust and embezzlement from her former employer, a real estate agency in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The woman had previously admitted to the charges against her, according to the local newspaper 24 Heures. She had also committed forgery to achieve her goals.

The woman in her thirties was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended. The sentence, however, still needed to be confirmed by the Sierre District Court (Switzerland). The former employee had embezzled 464,500 Swiss francs, or nearly 500,000 euros, from the company she worked for at the end of 2022. It took her only a month to misappropriate the money. To conceal her actions, she altered the company bank statements she presented to her boss.

No personal enrichment

When questioned about her motives for these embezzlements, the accused explained that she had begun consulting a marabout (a traditional healer/spiritual guide) after a breakup she couldn't get over. She wanted to "get her loved one back," according to legal documents. All of the embezzled funds were paid to the man in question or deposited into various accounts abroad.

To do this, the Swiss woman made bank transfers or withdrew cash from ATMs or bank counters before handing the bills over to a courier sent by the sorcerer. She had also given him a bank card linked to an account she funded with the money stolen from her company. Dismissed by her former boss, the secretary then found a new job.