Former Swiss board member convicted of insider trading

Swiss Steel Holding AG

22/06/2021 19:18

ZURICH, June 22 (Reuters) - An ex-board member at Swiss and
German companies was found guilty of insider trading and
qualified corporate espionage, Swiss state TV reported on
Tuesday, a rare instance in Switzerland of someone being
punished for taking advantage of insider information.
    Hans Ziegler, 69, received a suspended sentence of 24 months
in prison and must pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs 
($10,886.13) and restitution of 770,000 francs, according to the
verdict in the five-year-old case in Swiss Federal Criminal
Court in Bellinzona, Swiss broadcaster SRF reported.
    Ziegler, a former board member at robot maker Kuka
 KU2G.DE , Swiss Steel  STLN.S  and OC Oerlikon  OERL.S , was
cleared by the criminal court of taking bribes and other related
charges. 
    He resigned from the board seats after he was accused of
insider trading in 2016. [https://reut.rs/3j37iTH
]
    Ziegler last August was indicted by Swiss federal
prosecutors who accused him of crimes including disclosing trade
secrets and corporate espionage.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2FT3DO
    In 2017, Swiss financial watchdog FINMA ordered Ziegler to
surrender 1.4 million francs that it said were illegal profits
reaped from "repeated and systematic insider trading". [https://reut.rs/3j0ndCf
]
    Ziegler, who could not be reached for comment, can appeal
the verdict. His lawyer had sought a not guilty verdict.
    

($1 = 0.9186 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Dan Grebler)
 ((J.Miller@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7734; Reuters
Messaging: j.miller.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))