Crowds gather as Pierin Vincenz trial gets underway in Zurich
On Monday morning around a hundred members of the public, defendants and their lawyers appeared before the Zurich High Court for the appeal hearing against former Raiffeisen chief executive Pierin Vincenz.
The main defendant, Pierin Vincenz, arrived in a small car with his lawyer. He appeared to be in good spirits as he entered the court but declined to comment.
The hearing begins with general information and preliminary questions. The preliminary questions are expected to take the whole day. On Tuesday the questioning of Vincenz will continue. Given the scale of the case, the High Court has provisionally scheduled ten days for the trial. It is unclear when the verdict will be delivered.
At first instance, the Zurich District Court handed down harsh sentences in April 2022: Vincenz was sentenced to an unconditional prison term of three years and nine months. His former business partner, Beat Stocker, received a prison sentence of four years.
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