Only a few had expected such a harsh judgment: the former head of the Swiss Raiffeisen banks, Pierin Vincenz, was found guilty in the first instance on Wednesday morning, including charges of fraud, embezzlement, unfair business management and forgery. The Zurich District Court sentenced Vincenz to three years and nine months in prison, of which the ex-banker had already served 106 days in custody, and a fine of CHF 840,000. According to the court, the prison sentence will be carried out and the fine will be suspended. The verdict is not yet final, those involved in the process can appeal.
The proceedings against Vincenz, once one of the most powerful bankers in Switzerland, are considered the most important economic process in the country since the Swissair bankruptcy was processed. The investigation lasted more than three years. The result was an indictment of almost 400 pages. In addition to Vincenz and his former business partner Beat Stocker, there were five other suspects in the dock – a mega trial.
In essence, the court negotiated two sets of issues during the eight days of the hearing: on the one hand, excess expenses by Vincenz and Stocker. According to prosecutors, the two businessmen spent several hundred thousand francs in strip clubs, restaurants and hotels and booked these expenses as business. These allegations in particular had caused a stir in the Swiss public, because Pierin Vincenz had previously been considered an exception in the Swiss financial center: down-to-earth, down-to-earth and nevertheless successful. Under his leadership, the Raiffeisen Group rose to become the third largest bank in the country. The fact that Vincenz is said to have thrown money around in strip clubs shocked many.
The court also found misconduct here and found Vincenz guilty on Wednesday of multiple embezzlement, unfaithful business management and forgery of documents. Stocker was also found guilty of the expenses affair.
Vincenz is said to have made millions in profits through hidden investments in companies
However, the second complex is more important in criminal law and financial terms in this case: it involves several company takeovers by Raiffeisen and the credit card company Aduno (today Viseca), in which Raiffeisen has a stake. Roughly speaking, in four cases, Vincenz is said to have secretly participated in companies that were later bought by Raiffeisen or Aduno. According to the indictment, he made millions of dollars in personal gains from the transactions. The public prosecutor saw this as a case of fraud because Vincenz sat on both sides of the negotiating table and did not make it transparent. Beat Stocker is said to have been significantly involved in the transactions, so the prosecution made similar allegations to him as Vincenz. The majority of the other defendants are also said to have been involved in the controversial takeovers.
The court also found Vincenz guilty on this issue and convicted him of fraud, unfair business dealings and passive private bribery, among other things. The court also found his ex-companion Stocker guilty: he received a prison sentence of four years, but a smaller fine than Vincenz. Three of the other defendants received fines and one was acquitted. The court dropped the proceedings against the seventh accused for health reasons.
With its harsh verdict, the court, presided over by judge Sebastian Aeppli, largely agrees with the prosecution, even though it acquitted Vincenz of some serious charges, such as commercial fraud. Observers had not expected that, because the defense attorneys had raised plausible doubts about the version of the public prosecutor’s office in the process. However, the last word has not been spoken. Vincenz’ lawyer has already announced an appeal. The reappraisal of the Vincenz era continues.
One detail in Judge Aeppli’s reasoning is noteworthy in this context: According to Aeppli, the court reduced Vincenz’s prison sentence by nine months because he had been “massively” prejudiced by the media. Wednesday’s verdict should not only give bankers and business people food for thought, but also the trial observers.