Swiss Court Finds Former Banker Guilty of Selling Client Data

A former employee of the leading Swiss bank UBS has been sentenced to 40 months in jail and given a suspended fine for passing stolen bank data to the German authorities.

The Federal Criminal Court on Monday found the defendant guilty of espionage, money laundering and illegal possession of ammunition.

However, the judges cleared him of accusations of breaching Swiss banking secrecy laws.

Observers point out that the verdict is based largely on circumstantial evidence.

The 45-year former banker, who has denied any wrongdoing, was accused of selling at least 233 sets of bank client data to the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia for about €1.45 million (CHF1.6 million) in 2012.

He was employed by UBS between 2005 and 2012 and apparently bought a house on the Spanish island of Mallorca with the money paid by the German authorities but sold it again later.

The verdict was handed down in absentia as the defendant dodged the trial despite two summonses earlier this month.

It is the latest in a series of court rulings over stolen banking data over the past ten years.