The Czech citizens were jailed and fined for their part in the Czech Mostecka Uhelna Spolecnost (MUS) coal company privatisation scandal when they manipulated stock prices to their advantage through offshore schemes.
The money laundering scheme embezzled some CHF2 billion ($2 billion) in an illegal operation that ran through the Czech Republic, Switzerland, the Isle of Man, Cyprus, France, Austria, Hungary, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
Although the company in question was Czech, part of the original trial took place in Switzerland because a significant chunk of the money passed through Swiss banks and because it was first brought to light by a Lausanne businessman in 2004.
In a verdict released on Tuesday, the Federal Court reduced their sentences for good behaviour while serving time and because of the “excessive” duration of criminal proceedings, which took 15 years to complete.
One of the convicted men saw his original two-year prison sentence halved and the other also saw a significant reduction to his original custodial sentence.
More significantly for the duo, the Lausanne-based court also slashed the amount of money they were fined.
The convicted me were also saddled with compensation demands amounting to millions of francs during their original court case.
This content was published on
Switzerland's economy grew slightly at the start of 2024, with growth in the service sector contrasting with weak growth in industry.
Swiss employment rate rises in first quarter of 2023
This content was published on
The number of women and foreign nationals in employment increased particularly strongly, the Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.
Coercion still an issue in Swiss welfare system, report finds
This content was published on
The rights of vulnerable people are still sometimes disregarded by the Swiss welfare system, a national research programme has found.
This content was published on
Viola Amherd has expressed her “deep shock” at the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday.
This content was published on
A man injured half a dozen people with knives, two of them seriously, before being arrested on Wednesday in northern Switzerland.
Switzerland to introduce flight passenger database
This content was published on
Switzerland plans to introduce a flight passenger database to collect and process personal data in a bid to combat terrorism and serious crime.
Government plans to invest over CHF16bn in Swiss rail network
This content was published on
The federal government intends to invest CHF16.4 billion ($18.1 billion) in railway infrastructure between 2025 and 2028, CHF2 billion more than for the current period.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Czech money-laundering case opens
This content was published on
The six defendants are accused of having bought up 97 per cent of the Czech Mostecka Uhelna Spolecnost (MUS) coal company’s shares and then manipulated stock prices to their advantage through offshore schemes. Today, MUS is part of the larger Czech Coal Group, which is serving as a plaintiff in the case. Although the company…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.