Facts
A. and B. were breeding horses in Alsace and also selling them to Switzerland. An investigation by the Basel Customs Directorate revealed that between 1996 and 1999, numerous of these horses were illegally imported into Switzerland through border crossings or customs roads closed to traffic between Boncourt and Basel St. Louis. The Basel Customs Directorate issued final records against A., B. and other persons, accusing them of violations of the Customs Act, the Epizootic Diseases Act, the Value Added Tax Ordinance and the Value Added Tax Act. By a decision of January 31, 2002, A., B., C., D. and other persons were held liable for the payment of the evaded taxes. B., C. and D. appealed these decisions. The appeals of B. and C. were definitively resolved on May 19, 2004 and November 17, 2004 respectively. In the case of D., the Federal Customs Appeals Commission made a final decision on September 29, 2005. On October 11, 2006, the General Customs Directorate transferred the indictment against A., B. and C. to the competent court of the canton of Basel-Landschaft for trial. All other cases were resolved by an administrative criminal decision of the Customs Administration. On September 27, 2007, the President of the Criminal Court of Basel-Landschaft dismissed the proceedings against A. due to the statute of limitations. Against B. and C., the Criminal Court of Basel-Landschaft issued judgments on January 31, 2008, which became final.
Considerations
The Federal Court upholds the appeal. It considers that the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution has not expired with respect to all the offenses attributed to the appellant. According to the Court, when in an administrative criminal procedure directed against several participants, the facts are identical or overlapping, the criminal statute of limitations is suspended with respect to all…