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Deborah Hondius
Partner
Attorney-at-Law, MLaw, MAS in Economic Crime Investigation
Deborah Hondius specializes in litigation and internal investigations. Her practice areas include asset recovery, corporate criminal law, cybercrime, compliance and mutual assistance in criminal matters, including in cross-border contexts. She represents companies and individuals before Swiss courts, as well as criminal prosecution, regulatory and supervisory authorities.
Deborah publishes articles and is a frequent speaker on subjects related to her area of expertise, including negotiated procedures in criminal matters and art. 271 of the Criminal Code (acts performed without right for a foreign state). In 2023, she co-wrote the book "Paroles d'avocates: récits d'affaires et témoignages" (published by Éditions Favre). She is also Secretary of the Swiss branch of the Women's White Collar Defense Association, and a member of the Business Crime Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA).
Location
Geneva
Rue Jacques-Balmat 5
P.O. Box 1203
1211 Geneva 1 Switzerland +41 58 220 36 00 Zurich St. Annagasse 9 P.O. Box 1162
8021 Zurich Switzerland +41 58 220 37 00 Contact email hidden; JavaScript is required Assistant email hidden; JavaScript is required
1211 Geneva 1 Switzerland +41 58 220 36 00 Zurich St. Annagasse 9 P.O. Box 1162
8021 Zurich Switzerland +41 58 220 37 00 Contact email hidden; JavaScript is required Assistant email hidden; JavaScript is required
Languages
- French
- English
- German
Experience
| Since 2025 | Partner, valfor |
| 2023–2024 | Counsel, LALIVE SA, Geneva & Zurich |
| 2018–2023 | Associate, LALIVE SA, Geneva |
| 2015–2018 | Associate, PYTHON, Geneva |
| 2013–2015 | Junior Associate, PYTHON, Geneva |
| 2013 | Junior Associate, First Instance Criminal Court, Geneva |
| 2019–2020 | Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Economic Crime Investigation, Haute école de gestion Arc, Neuchâtel |
| 2015 | Bar admission (ranked 3rd), Geneva |
| 2012 | Certificate of advanced studies in legal professions, University of Geneva |
| 2010–2012 | Bilingual Master of Law (LL.M.), Universities of Basel and Geneva |
| 2007–2010 | Bachelor of Law, University of Fribourg |
- Geneva Bar Association
- Swiss Bar Association (SAV/FSA)
- Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA)
- Business Crime Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA)
- European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA)
- Since 2025 Member of the Geneva Bar Association's criminal law forum
- Since 2020 Secretary of the Swiss Chapter of the Women's White Collar Defense Association
- October 2025Commentaire romand « Code pénal II » (CP II), Art. 111-392 CP: commentaire des articles 179 à 179quater du Code pénal, Editions Helbing Lichtenhahn Verlag
- January 2024Snapshot: civil asset recovery in Switzerland (GTDT/Lexology)
- December 2023Paroles d’avocates: récits d’affaires et témoignages (co-auteure avec Valentine Bagnoud), Editions Favre
- March 2022Article 271(1) of the Swiss Criminal Code: myth or reality? A summary of the practical implications of this Swiss statutory provision in the context of civil proceedings pending outside of Switzerland (co-authored with Philipp Fischer), Jus-letter 4 April 2022
- June 2021Tax offences as predicate offences to money laundering - Key takeaways for practitioners, Verrechnungssteuer, zsis) 4/2021, A20
- March 2021Criminalité économique et procédures négociées : comparaison et état des lieux, La Semaine judiciaire (SJ 2021 II p. 231 ss)
- December 2020Overview of Switzerland's domestic anti-corruption legal framework, International Bar Association, Anti-Corruption Committee - anti-bribery conventions and legislation: countries overview
- December 2019Impact of Covid-19 on criminal proceedings, LALIVE Blog
- September 2019Swiss blocking statute: update on do’s and don’ts under the threat of criminal sanctions, LALIVE Blog
- June 2019Saga des rétrocessions : les gérants de fortune s’exposent désormais à des sanctions pénales pour gestion déloyale (art. 158 CP) en cas de violation de leurs devoirs d’information et de restitution, Blog de l’Institut de lutte contre la criminalité économique (ILCE)
- March 2019Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Arbitral Awards in Switzerland: Crack-ing One of the World’s Safe Boxes, International Law Practicum (International Section of the New York State Bar Association)
- February 2025« L’entreprise et ses employés face à la justice pénale : implications pratiques et jurisprudence récente», Journée de droit pénal économique 2025, Université de Fribourg et ILCE - Institut de lutte contre la criminalité économique HEG Arc
- December 2024«Déboires et victoires de la profession d’avocate», Université de Genève, Cours de droit pénal spécial II (Master), Prof. Katia Villard, Geneva (UNIMAIL)
- June 2024«Le métier d’avocat pénaliste», conférence mensuelle, Lions Club Geneva, Geneva
- April 2024«Panel d’avocates : la place des femmes dans le monde juridique, les obstacles auxquelles elles sont confrontées et les défis à venir», Université de Genève (Association des étudiant-e-s en droit), Geneva (UNIMAIL)
- September 2023«Attorney-Client Privilege» in internen Untersuchungen (Fachgruppe Commercial & Disputes), Deutsch-Schweizerische Juristenvereinigung e.V. (DSJV)-Herbstveranstaltung, Zurich
- September 2021«Actes exécutés sans droit par un Etat étranger – L’art. 271 CP mythe ou réalité ?», Ordre des Avocats Genève (ODA) – Commission de formation permanente – Webinaire, Workshop: L’entraide internationale en matière civile et commerciale, Geneva
- March 2020«This House Thinks: debates on multi-jurisdictional asset tracing litigation», C5 - 14th Annual Fraud, Asset Tracing and Recovery Conference, Geneva
- October 2019«Round Table: Legal developments with respect to whistleblowing and corruption in Switzerland», TRACE- Anti-Bribery Compliance Solutions, Trace Roundtable, Geneva