Engineer reports alleged forgery in Crans-Montana bar application

A civil engineer has reported alleged document forgery after discovering that his name was used without his knowledge on a building application for the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, SRF reported. The case is part of the criminal investigation into the fire that killed 41 people and injured 115.

The events date back to December 2025, two weeks before the fire. The Moretti couple, who owned the business, wanted to remodel its terrace.

The publicly displayed application listed Jacques Moretti as the applicant, along with a draftsman and a civil engineer as the project authors. The draftsman did draw the plans, but the named engineer said he had no involvement in the project.

According to matching reports by BFM TV and French-language broadcaster RTS, the engineer learned at the beginning of January that his name had allegedly been used improperly. He told police that an RTS journalist contacted him in the days after the fire after noticing his name on the application.

The engineer then contacted an employee of Crans-Montana’s building department, whom he knew well, to clarify the matter. The employee allegedly admitted that, in discussions with the draftsman, they had decided to add the engineer’s name to the application.

The reported arrangement was linked to a rule in the canton of Valais requiring a diploma to sign plans submitted for public inspection. The draftsman did not have the required diploma, so the name of an engineer who did was included instead.

Neither the draftsman nor the engineer wanted to comment when contacted. Jacques Moretti’s lawyer also initially declined to say whether the bar operator knew about the arrangement, had privileged access to the municipal employee under investigation or saved money by not hiring a qualified engineer.

Moretti has been in pre-trial detention for about a month over allegations of domestic violence, making it potentially difficult for his lawyer to contact him at short notice.

Several lawyers representing victims’ families said they were shocked and criticised alleged negligence and behind-the-scenes dealings in the Crans-Montana municipal administration.

The municipal employee involved is already under investigation in connection with the fire. He is suspected of neglecting his duties over the opening of a smoking room in the bar’s basement in 2017. His lawyers also declined to comment on the new allegation.