Facts
The Office of the Attorney General for Economic Crimes and Organized Crime of the Canton of Thurgau is conducting a criminal investigation against a lawyer (the appellant) on suspicion of forgery, money laundering, and complicity in misappropriation. In the context of this investigation, the Cantonal Investigating Magistrate's Office ordered a bank to disclose the appellant's banking information and account documents. The bank produced the documents but requested that they be sealed. The Coercive Measures Court of the Canton of Thurgau granted the Attorney General's request for unsealing.
The appellant filed an appeal against this decision with the Federal Supreme Court. He argued that his attorney-client privilege and the confidentiality interests of his clients would preclude unsealing. He also disputed that all the seized documents were relevant to the investigation.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It held that the appellant's attorney-client privilege, as he himself is accused, does not fundamentally preclude the unsealing of the documents. The bank customer confidentiality also cannot be invoked against lawful investigative measures. To the extent that the appellant claimed the confidentiality interests of third parties (his clients), he was not legitimized to…