Facts
According to the statutes of July 27, 1992, the European Kings Club (EKC) exists as an association headquartered in Basel. The association aims to demonstrate to its members the social, ecological, financial, and economic interrelationships. Members receive so-called "Letters of European Kings Club" in exchange for payment, for which they are supposed to receive monthly distributions of CHF 200.-.
The Swiss Federal Banking Commission ordered the dissolution of the EKC in 1993, as it was subject to the Banking Act. Subsequently, the public prosecutor's offices of the cantons of Basel-City and Bern initiated criminal proceedings for commercial fraud against exponents of the EKC.
As the criminal proceedings were pending in several cantons, the question of jurisdiction arose. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Basel-City requested the Federal Supreme Court to oblige the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Aargau to prosecute the EKC letter sellers residing in its cantonal territory.
Considerations
The Criminal Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court considers the request to be sufficiently justified and proceeds with it. It states that the statutory place of jurisdiction may exceptionally be deviated from if there are compelling reasons for doing so.
In the present case, the Criminal Chamber sees such compelling reasons. The "pyramid-like investment system" of the EKC has led to numerous persons becoming active as letter sellers. Determining the place of jurisdiction solely according to the statutory provisions could lead to undesirable mass proceedings. For reasons of expediency and procedural economy, it is therefore justified to deviate from the statutory place of…