Facts
The appellant X., a federally certified public accountant, was a partner and member of the executive management of the auditing and consulting firm A. AG from 2007 to 2013. In this capacity, he was the lead auditor of Bank B. AG. On January 30, 2014, the Audit Oversight Authority (RAB) filed a criminal complaint against X. for violation of the Audit Oversight Act and exploitation of knowledge of confidential facts.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office then opened a criminal investigation against X. on March 5, 2014 and issued a criminal order on March 19, 2018 for violation of the Audit Oversight Act and multiple instances of exploitation of knowledge of confidential facts as a primary insider. X. filed an objection against this.
In the indictment of May 22, 2018, the Federal Prosecutor's Office accused X. of having acquired 4,000 registered shares of Bank D. on September 20 and 22, 2011, exploiting confidential information about an acquisition project of Bank B. AG. The Federal Criminal Court then convicted X. on August 9, 2018 of exploitation of knowledge of confidential facts pursuant to Art. 161 para. 1 no. 1 SCC and multiple violations of the Audit Oversight Act pursuant to Art. 40 para. 1 lit. b RAG.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismisses X.'s appeal against the judgment of the Federal Criminal Court.
It first notes that the requirements for a necessary defense in the present case were not met, as the public prosecutor's office had waived personal participation in the main hearing. There is also no violation of the right to requested defense, as the former defense counsel had resigned his mandate at an inopportune time.
On the merits, the Federal Supreme Court affirms that X. as…