A Swiss court has found a well-known turnaround manager guilty of insider dealings, the first case involving someone that prominent in a country which has so far tiptoed around enforcing insider trading laws.
A Swiss criminal court found Hans Ziegler guilty of several counts of insider trading, industrial espionage, and breaching confidential company information, according to Swiss newswire «AWP» (in German). Ziegler was given to a two-year suspended sentence, a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,900), and ordered to pay restitution of 770,000 francs.
Ziegler, one of Switzerland's most respected and best-known turnaround experts, went on to a boardroom career including stints at apparel maker Charles Voegele and steel products maker Schmolz+Bickenbach. His prosecution is emblematic of far stricter enforcement of Swiss insider trading rules, which were buttressed more than ten years ago.
Treatment of White-Collar Crime
Prosecutors, who had accused the 69-year-old of enriching himself by 2 million francs with privileged knowledge in connection with deals carried out at 11 companies, fell short in their effort to jail Ziegler for five years. His sentencing means he will not serve prison time.
Ziegler's case is being closely watched in financial circles as an indicator of how Swiss courts will treat white-collar criminals. An unnamed ex-Swiss bank CEO is also due to stand on insider dealing charges, and the ex-CEO of Falcon Private Bank, Eduardo Leemann, will in September face charges of money laundering and graft related an European investment by the now-defunct Swiss bank's Abu Dhabi owner.
Peccadillo Vs Severe
Swiss daily «Tages-Anzeiger» (behind paywall, in German) commented that the Ziegler ruling demonstrated that insider trading is still regarded as a peccadillo in Switzerland, while conservative «Neue Zuercher Zeitung» (in German, behind paywall) argued the exact opposite, and that it marked a new dawn of treating white-collar dealings as serious crimes.
The conviction caps a four-year investigation into Ziegler, who in 2017 paid 1.4 million francs in fines to Swiss financial regulator Finma. A 57-year-old ex-banker who stood trial with Ziegler was given a 12-month suspended sentence and an 8,000-franc fine. The court said it viewed both cases of wrong-doing as petty to moderately serious.
