Swiss charge prominent businessman with insider trading and bribery

The Swiss Attorney General has filed an indictment against two people, including well-known businessman Hans Ziegler, over charges of bribery, insider trading and industrial espionage.

Criminal proceedings were launched against Ziegler in April 2016, after the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) raised suspicions of insider trading. The federal prosecutor extended its investigation a year later to a second person, as well as widening the accusations to include bribery and industrial espionage.

The federal prosecutor alleges that between the end of 2013 and November 2016, Ziegler – as a member of the board of a company – disclosed trade secrets to the second accused several times and without authorisation. This included information related to the sale of a foreign subsidiary to a potential foreign buyer, whom the second accused was advising at the time.

Ziegler is alleged to have demanded CHF150,000 ($164,800) in exchange for this information. The payment was eventually made to a company belonging to Ziegler. 

The indictment further claims that Ziegler, who was a member of the board of four listed companies and a senior adviser to two consulting firms, exploited insider information in connection with commercial transactions involving securities from a total of eleven companies. This resulted in a profit of CHF2 million for Ziegler and for two legal entities with which he is associated.

The names of the second accused and the companies involved were not disclosed. 

Ziegler has been a well-known figure in Swiss industry for the last few decades. He has held board positions at several companies including Charles Vögele, Elma Electronic, Schlatter Holding and Swisslog, which was sold to the German robotics group Kuka.