The investigative documentary, “Presumed Guilty,” that tells the story of banking corruption in Switzerland and the country’s efforts to win back international credibility following international criticism, has been shortlisted at the International Movie Awards.
The documentary investigates the truth behind accusations against former coal mining executives convicted in 2013 of siphoning and laundering money through Swiss bank accounts, and examines a “witch hunt” by the Swiss authorities led to a prosecution of innocents littered with mistakes and prosecutorial negligence.
The movie, directed by American Jijo Reed, documents the case of a former IMF and World Bank Director, prominent former US officials, and five Czech businessmen and investors, who were involved in MUS, a large, formerly state-owned coal mining company in North Bohemia that was privatized in the 1990s.
The managers were accused, and subsequently convicted in Switzerland, of negligence and laundering the company’s profits through illegal transactions that prosecutors say involved more than 100 Swiss bank accounts. The Swiss authorities have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars of the company’s assets, despite no proof that any crimes were ever committed on Swiss soil.
At the time, the verdict in Switzerland was seen as a damning indictment of both the ‘wild privatization’ of the 1990’s and also the Czech criminal justice system, which failed to prosecute the case successfully because repeated Czech investigations into the case produced no evidence of wrongdoing.
“This is a case that most people around the world never heard about because of where it happened—until now,” says Jijo Reed, the film’s Los Angeles-based director. “When you see the film, you will share the horror of what it is like to be presumed guilty when you know with 100% certainty you did nothing wrong. For the men dragged through the Swiss courts, whose reputations have been trashed and legitimate assets frozen, it is clear that they faced a skewed fight for justice in a country where the government is out to get you no matter what, that evidence can be overlooked, and that you are a pawn in a country’s fight to prove it is cleaning up its historic misdeeds.”
The documentary is in consideration for Best Documentary Feature category at the International Movie Awards, which will be announced at Planet Hollywood Cinema XXI in Jakarta, Indonesia between March 25th – 31st, 2016. The festival will also feature screenings, film-making workshops and special guest appearances by filmmakers, media and celebrities.
Notes to Editors
The documentary’s trailer can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/N71-D1HZQ9Y
Produced and directed by the production company, Sugar Studios LA, Presumed Guilty seeks to establish a new feature length category for investigative cinematic journalism.
For further information contact:
U.S.A.
Adam Farragut, The Publicity Agency
(813) 708-1220 x7778
EUROPE
Jonathan Hawker, Slate Campaigns
+44 7979907000
SOURCE: Presumed Guilty
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