Facts
The [A. AG] (formerly Gasthof [B. AG] ) had filed a criminal complaint against [X.] on February 19, 2016, for forgery, breach of fiduciary duty, and attempted fraud. [X.] allegedly concluded falsely dated employment contracts with his parents in the spring/summer of 2015 as a shareholder and member of the board of directors of the company, in order to prevent the sale of the majority of shares of Gasthof [B. AG] to [C. AG] . The Public Prosecutor's Office of Winterthur/Unterland discontinued the proceedings on January 5, 2018. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the complaint of [A. AG] on August 27, 2018, insofar as it was entertained.
[A. AG] requests with a complaint in criminal matters that [X.] be charged with falsification of documents, alternatively with making false statements to the commercial register authorities, and with breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the falsely dated employment contracts. Alternatively, further investigative measures should be taken.
Considerations
The Federal Court first examines whether the complainant has a legally protected interest in the complaint. This interest is affirmed insofar as the complainant claims that the lower court did not entertain its motion. The complainant is entitled to a complaint in criminal matters in this respect, as it has a legally protected interest in the annulment or modification of the decision.
The Federal Court finds that the offenses under the law on forgery serve to protect the security and reliability of legal transactions with documents and primarily aim to protect the general public. Private interests can only be directly affected if the offense is…