Facts
The appellant [X.] was found guilty, together with his business partner [A.] , of multiple tax fraud and multiple forgery of documents. The District Court of Zurich sentenced them each to five months' imprisonment, suspended with a probationary period of two years. [X.] appealed against the judgment and requested that the charge of multiple forgery of documents be dismissed. Alternatively, he should be acquitted of the charge of multiple forgery of documents. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich found [X.] guilty of multiple forgery of documents and sentenced him to a fine of a total of 150 daily rates of CHF 150.-, suspended with a probationary period of two years.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed [X.] 's appeal. It stated that the appellant had fulfilled the objective elements of the offence of forgery of documents under Art. 251 of the Swiss Criminal Code by recording fictitious liabilities. The subjective elements were also to be affirmed, as [X.] had at least accepted the tax advantage obtained through the forgery of documents as well as the possibility of using the documents in the non-fiscal area. The Federal Supreme Court clarified that in the case of public limited companies, the commercial balance sheet serves not only as a statement of the company's financial situation to the tax authorities, but also to third parties. Anyone who prepares an inaccurate commercial balance sheet therefore generally accepts that it…