Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann has ordered an administrative investigation following revelations published on Thursday by the Zurich-based Tages Anzeiger newspaper.
The newspaper alleges that a top manager at Seco promised contracts to an IT provider at inflated prices in exchange for gifts worth several tens of thousands of francs.
Schneider-Ammann has asked an external expert to look into the case, the SDA news service said, citing a statement from federal economy department spokesman Rudolf Christen.
According to Tages-Anzeiger, the head of Seco cultivated close contacts with the IT provider in question over a period of eight years.
In return for offering them cushy contracts, he received paid trips, VIP tickets for football matches and other gifts, the newspaper said, basing its report on emails and other information leaked from the secretariat.
The contracts signed with the IT company amounted into the millions of francs, according to the report.
Tages Anzeiger said the Seco manager is close to retirement and the two representatives of the IT company he dealt with have changed jobs since the end of last year.
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