Published on 14 May 2024
Combating fraud at the OAIE
The following information advises the public about the efforts made by the OAIE to combat insurance fraud and how to report relevant information to the OAIE.
Cases of fraud may arise when an insured person:
- applies for benefits in a deliberate attempt to deceive the disability insurance scheme, or
- seeks to retain benefits by omitting, either partially or completely, to inform the disability insurance scheme.
Thus, an insured person who, by providing false or incomplete information or in any other way, obtains – for himself or for someone else – a benefit that is not due to him, commits a criminally reprehensible offence.
Even if the number of cases of outright fraud is proportionally low, fraud cannot be tolerated because it is borne by all citizens. The OAIE therefore makes every effort to rigorously combat fraud and to carry out checks before granting benefits and during periodic reviews. It may call on the services of specialists, such as private investigators.
Information concerning an insured person can be passed on in several ways:
By e-mail oaie@zas.admin.ch
By post to the following address:
DI Office for people living abroad
Av. Edmond-Vaucher 18
P.O. Box 3100
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
By telephone on +41 58 461 91 11By using the contact form below
Each case is handled by staff members who examine the situation but who will not be able to inform you of the outcome, given their obligation to maintain confidentiality (art. 33 LPGA).
- An insured person who cannot walk well or move his arm and who receives a full disability pension. The insured person continues to send medical certificates attesting to a deteriorating state of health and an inability to work. Thanks to a whistleblower’s report, enquiries uncovered that the insured person was performing physical activities that clearly contradicted his physical limitations. Observation of the insured person by a detective as well as a medical report established that the insured person was perfectly capable of walking and using both arms, so he had clearly exaggerated his health impairment. His pension was withdrawn retroactively.
- An insured person who works but never told the OAIE. Thanks to a report, the disability pension can be withdrawn with retroactive effect from the start of the gainful employment.
- We receive a report that an insured person has been in prison for several years. If this is indeed the case, the pension can be suspended immediately and any pensions paid out unjustifiably during the entire period of imprisonment will have to be recovered.
- We receive a report about children’s pensions being paid when in fact the children are no longer studying. After verification, the children’s pensions are withdrawn as per the end of the studies, often retroactively.
- An insured person who cannot walk well or move his arm and who receives a full disability pension. The insured person continues to send medical certificates attesting to a deteriorating state of health and an inability to work. Thanks to a whistleblower’s report, enquiries uncovered that the insured person was performing physical activities that clearly contradicted his physical limitations. Observation of the insured person by a detective as well as a medical report established that the insured person was perfectly capable of walking and using both arms, so he had clearly exaggerated his health impairment. His pension was withdrawn retroactively.
Form for transmitting information about an insured person