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 authorization. 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 original full article can be found at swissinfo.ch

(Photo: Keystone / Peter Klaunzer)