There appear to have been a number of unintentional disclosures in connection with the secret talks between Swiss authorities, UBS, and Credit Suisse. That now has consequences.
The Swiss Federal Prosecutor intends to investigate how and why information leaked in the talks involving UBS's takeover of Credit Suisse that took place between both banks with the Federal Council, the Swiss regulator (Finma), and the Swiss National Bank.
«We have taken note of the media reporting about the recent events related to Credit Suisse and are performing an assessment of the situation with all the internal areas that were involved», the Swiss Federal Prosecutor told the Swiss weekend newspaper «NZZ am Sonntag» (German only, paywall) about the possible breaches of official secrecy requirements.
Possible Business Espionage
«In addition, we have contacted national and cantonal authorities. We have also started relevant investigations.» The authorities have not indicated what is being investigated but it appears to go beyond information leaks.
Legal expert Mark Pieth told the «NZZ am Sonntag» that other crimes were being considered besides official secrecy breaches. «If the foreign authorities involved leaked information, that could be seen as possible business espionage», he indicated.
Immediately Active
Bankers who are not required to maintain official secrecy requirements could have breached business secrecy stipulations if the leak came from their side. Other possible violations include infringement of insider trading laws.
The federal prosecutor wants to «proactively fulfill its duty of maintaining an upright Swiss financial center». It will now collate and evaluate information in order to identify and analyze any possible crimes that fall under the authority's aegis. Should that turn out to be the case, they would «become immediately active».
