• SWI SECO announced OAG indicted a Swiss citizen in Federal Criminal Court on charges of insider dealing in transactions worth over 10.6 millions of francs.

Overview

• The indictment alleges that in 5 cases between 2018 to 2020, the accused exploited confidential and price sensitive information about ongoing or planned takeovers.
• It is believed he made unlawful profit of around CHF 10.6 million and alleged to have obtained confidential information from acquaintance who worked for investment bank.

Context

• AG Office (OAG) opened criminal proceedings in February 2019 in response to report from the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MLROS).
• Accused was then active as investor and consultant to companies in SWI and abroad.
• He would have been aware shareholders of takeover target company listed on a stock exchange in Switzerland can normally expect considerable premium on the share price.

Charges and Other

• OAG charged accused in connection with 4 cases that mainly involve multiple counts of exploitation of insider information as secondary or alternatively third-party insider art 154 para 3 and para 4 FinMIA; one further case for attempt to exploit the information.
• As part of complex investigations, OAG instructed Fedpol to execute several measures.
• OAG will make its sentencing proposals known at main hearing before Federal Criminal Court; the presumption of innocence applies until a legally binding judgment is issued.