Facts
The case concerns an individual, X., who was convicted of fraud and document forgery by the Higher Court of the canton of Zurich. The individual had filed false tax refund claims with the US tax authorities, using false identities and signatures, and had received refunds for a total amount of approximately 1 million Swiss francs.
X.'s defense argued that the incriminated acts did not constitute a common law offense, but rather a tax offense that should be judged according to tax criminal law. However, the Higher Court considered that X.'s acts constituted a common law offense, as they had been committed with the intention of enriching himself illegally and not within the framework of a tax assessment or refund process.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the incriminated acts constituted a common law offense or a tax offense. The Court considered that common law offenses and tax offenses are two distinct categories of offenses, and that X.'s acts constituted a common law offense as they had been committed with the intention of enriching himself illegally.
The Court also considered that the provisions of tax criminal law do not apply to X.'s acts, as they had not been committed within the framework of a tax assessment or refund process. The Court therefore confirmed X.'s conviction for fraud and document forgery.
The…