Life Forestry Switzerland Bankrupt: Prosecutors Investigate Carl-Lambert Liesenberg
- Life Forestry Switzerland AG is bankrupt, leaving over 6,000 European investors facing uncertainty over approximately 200 million Swiss francs invested in teak trees across Costa Rica and Ecuador,...
- The Nidwaldner Staatsanwaltschaft confirmed a running legal proceeding against Carl-Lambert Liesenberg, the 62-year-old manager, owner, and sole board member of Life Forestry Switzerland who lives in Central Switzerland.
- Life Forestry Switzerland sold young teak trees to clients who became tree owners, while the company handled maintenance, harvesting, and sales for 15 percent of the proceeds alongside...
Life Forestry Switzerland AG is bankrupt, leaving over 6,000 European investors facing uncertainty over approximately 200 million Swiss francs invested in teak trees across Costa Rica and Ecuador, 20min.ch reported. Around 800 Swiss investors are among those affected by the insolvency.
Nidwalden Prosecutors Open Criminal Investigation Into Carl-Lambert Liesenberg
The Nidwaldner Staatsanwaltschaft confirmed a running legal proceeding against Carl-Lambert Liesenberg, the 62-year-old manager, owner, and sole board member of Life Forestry Switzerland who lives in Central Switzerland. Authorities executed five house searches as part of the inquiry. The presumption of innocence applies to Liesenberg.
Business Model Directed Funds to Loans and Personal Accounts
Life Forestry Switzerland sold young teak trees to clients who became tree owners, while the company handled maintenance, harvesting, and sales for 15 percent of the proceeds alongside projected annual returns of up to 12 percent, according to reporting by Correctiv.Schweiz and SRF Rundschau. Investigators found that the physical trees exist but belong to local firms in Costa Rica—including one where Liesenberg sits on the board and another run by a business partner—rather than directly to Life Forestry Switzerland. Financial records from 2023 showed 25 million Swiss francs in loans disbursed to Liesenberg’s other enterprises in Switzerland and Tanzania, business partners in Ecuador, and a direct transfer of 3.6 million Swiss francs to Liesenberg personally.
Manager Defends Solvency While German Courts Issue Fraud Findings
Liesenberg defended the business in a media release, asserting that clients remain tree owners and did not lose money because the insolvency only affects management, harvest, and sales operations. Durch die Insolvenz der LFS AG ist niemand zu Schaden gekommen und alle Verpflichtungen werden eingehalten,
Liesenberg stated, adding that 4,000 customers signed new contracts with a former employee to manage their trees. Meanwhile, judicial authorities in Germany have scrutinized the firm repeatedly; the Frankfurt an der Oder Regional Court ruled in 2025 that the business model was designed from the start for Täuschung und Schädigung der Kunden,
as noted by 20min.ch.
