Decision of the court on the abusive use of confidential information

Facts

This case concerns X., a stockbroker who made significant profits by buying shares and options of Credit Suisse (SKA) before the restructuring of this group was publicly announced. The criminal authorities accused X. of having obtained confidential information about this restructuring, probably from an insider, and of having profited from this privileged knowledge.

The District Court of Zurich convicted X. of abusive use of confidential information within the meaning of Art. 161 para. 2 SCC. However, the Cantonal Court of Zurich subsequently acquitted him. The public prosecutor then appealed to the Federal Tribunal.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considered that the criminal liability of the beneficiary of an indiscretion (the "tippee") within the meaning of Art. 161 para. 2 SCC requires that the confidential information has been communicated to him directly or indirectly by an insider. However, the cantonal court has conclusively established that X. did not receive information from an insider, but rather drew the right conclusions from information elements from non-insider sources, such as…