Ten months in, the sprawling probe into Swiss fire disaster

Le Constellation, a bar in the upmarket Swiss ski resort, caught fire on January 1 as young revellers celebrated the New Year.  [AFP]

The criminal investigation into the Crans-Montana fire disaster could last several years, given the number of suspects and plaintiffs involved in the sprawling case.

Le Constellation, a bar in the upmarket Swiss ski resort, rapidly caught fire on January 1 as young revellers, many of them teenagers, celebrated the New Year. The tragedy claimed 41 lives and injured 115 others.

Public prosecutors have focused on Jacques and Jessica Moretti, the French couple who owned and ran the bar, with Jacques Moretti due to be questioned again on Monday.

But 10 months in, the case has also put local authorities and officials under the spotlight.

The investigation into the Morettis has primarily focused on three areas: compliance with fire safety standards; emergency exits and safety equipment; and whether they knew the risks their customers were exposed to.

While the investigation by the Wallis canton's public prosecutors has seemingly uncovered some shortcomings, other aspects remain unclear.

Jacques Moretti's criminal record has also come to light. He was convicted in France in 2008 for pimping.

He was also implicated in seven other cases -- including allegations of fraud -- though he was not convicted.

In March, a report by Switzerland's Federal Office of Police, seen by AFP, revealed suspicions of money laundering involving the couple, who own three establishments in Wallis.

Investigators referred to "an alleged criminal financial scheme" based on loans they said were likely obtained in an "improper manner".

In August, Jacques Moretti was taken into custody following allegations of domestic violence against his wife. He had previously spent 14 days in custody in January as part of the investigation into the fire.

"By focusing all the attention on the Morettis... we end up forgetting that this case involves 15 other defendants facing the same charges," Jessica Moretti's lawyers Yael Hayat and Nicola Meier told AFP.

"This suggests that some key answers must be sought elsewhere, in particular from local authority staff, security officials and elected representatives."

All 17 face charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

The others charged include eight current or former municipal officials -- among them Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud -- and seven current or former municipal employees.

Following the tragedy, Crans-Montana officials admitted that no fire or safety inspections had been conducted at the bar since 2019.

Investigators are seeking to determine whether the local politicians and officials knew of these shortcomings, and whether there were sufficient resources to carry out the proper inspections.

"Behind the admission of incompetence by many of the defendants from the municipality... it is clear that they will stop at nothing to avoid discussing serious failings -- particularly regarding inspections -- and to avoid acknowledging any form of responsibility," Christophe de Galembert, a lawyer representing several families, told AFP.

Investigators are probing the renovations Moretti carried out in the bar's basement in 2015, the operating licences and the safety measures in place.

They are focusing on the emergency exits -- some of which were allegedly locked -- and the sound-insulation foam that lined the basement ceiling, which prosecutors say ignited quickly when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised into the air.

Besides the other charges, Jessica Moretti was charged in June with falsifying a document, in connection with an invoice for the foam.

The families hope that the couple will "acknowledge their wrongdoing", said Didier Elsig, a lawyer representing the civil parties.

At the outset, the Wallis public prosecutors -- unaccustomed to a case of this magnitude -- faced widespread criticism, particularly over the failure to take the Morettis into custody straight away, the lack of measures to prevent collusion between suspects, and the lack of immediate searches of property.

In April, a request to appoint special prosecutors from outside the canton was rejected, as was a request to recuse the prosecutors assigned to the case.

Since then, one of the three prosecutors has stepped down, and the tension seems to have eased.

"It remains to be seen whether the mistakes at the start of the investigation will have repercussions for the remainder of the proceedings," said Galembert.

The investigation must establish if there were failings in the renovation work, the running of the bar and the municipal inspections, as well as any individual criminal liabilities.

In June, two lawyers requested that the charges against the Morettis be revised, following the disclosure of correspondence with staff suggesting that they were aware of the fire risk.

The investigation has yet to hear from the numerous plaintiffs, with no date in sight for when the case might potentially go to trial.

Many observers believe the investigation could last for several years.