Ex-Swiss 'banker of the year' convicted in corruption trial
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ZURICH • Swiss judges yesterday sentenced former Raiffeisen Switzerland chief executive Pierin Vincenz to three years and nine months' jail, finding him guilty of fraud and other counts in a trial that has gripped the nation with allegations of fraudulent deals and huge strip club bills.
In one of the country's highest-profile corporate crime trials in decades, Zurich's district court convicted Vincenz, charged with making millions through illicit deals while he was CEO of the cooperative lender, on several counts.
The former Swiss "banker of the year" was found innocent on a number of counts as well.
All seven defendants in the case had denied the allegations against them. Prosecutors were seeking nearly 70 million Swiss francs (S$102 million) in total in assets from the seven defendants, as well as pursuing financial penalties and jail sentences ranging from two to six years for all but one of them.
The case centred on conflicts of interest on deals between a number of firms in which Vincenz and another defendant were involved. Both were also accused of forgery.
The trial, which was moved from a courthouse to Zurich's Volkshaus theatre due to the intense public interest, had also featured the 65-year-old's alleged misuse of corporate expenses.
Vincenz told the court in January that a near 200,000 Swiss franc expenses bill for strip club visits was largely business-related, while a 700 franc dinner with a woman he met on dating app Tinder was justified as he was considering her for a real estate job.
Other defendants were accused of anti-competitive behaviour and acting as accessories on the corporate deals.
REUTERS
