Thousands fear losses after teak investment firm collapses

More than 6,000 investors across Europe fear losing money after a Swiss company that sold investments in teak trees went bankrupt, an investigation by SRF and Correctiv.Schweiz found. Investors transferred around CHF 200 million in total, with about 800 of them in Switzerland.

Life Forestry Switzerland (LFS) sold young trees in Costa Rica and Ecuador, arranged plantation maintenance and harvesting, and claimed 15 percent of the sale proceeds. It offered annual returns of up to 12 percent on the long-term investment.

In a survey by the investigators, 130 Swiss investors responded and shared documents including ownership certificates, invoices and contracts. Some had invested CHF 3,000, while others put in millions. Most said they had not received the proceeds they were promised and now fear losing their original investment.

One investor, identified by the pseudonym Eva Gross, said she had put around CHF 80,000 of her retirement savings into teak trees. The 71-year-old told SRF’s Rundschau that she was deeply uncertain because she had received no clear information about what was happening.

LFS was declared bankrupt in 2025 after failing to pay a tax bill and is being liquidated. Its managing director, Carl-Lambert Liesenberg, joined the company in 2009 and became its owner and sole board member in 2017. He is now responsible for its liquidation.

The Nidwalden prosecutor’s office confirmed that it had received criminal complaints and civil claims from people who may have been affected. Its economic-crime unit is investigating Liesenberg and another person on suspicion of fraud, mismanagement and bankruptcy offences. Investigators recently searched five properties. The suspects are presumed innocent.

German courts have also dealt with the company. In a civil case in October 2025, the Frankfurt an der Oder Regional Court found that LFS’s business model had been designed from the outset to deceive and harm customers. Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has also confirmed that German investors are entitled to repayment. More than 100 subsequently sought their money back, but LFS did not pay.

Liesenberg declined to answer SRF’s questions. In a statement, he portrayed himself as a victim of lawyers who had earned millions from worried customers. He said LFS customers still own the trees and that the company’s insolvency affects only their management, harvesting and sale. He also stated that nobody had been harmed and that all obligations would be met.

However, an examination of Costa Rica’s land registry found that the plantations are not owned by the liquidated LFS. The land belongs to two Costa Rican companies and covers more than 40 square kilometres, with a registered value equivalent to CHF 16 million. One of the companies is Life Forestry Costa Rica S.A., which is run by a business partner of Liesenberg.

Tags: Switzerland, investment, teak