Prosecutors are closer to bringing charges against former Raiffeisen boss Pierin Vincenz and an associate, finews.com has learned.

Zurich’s prosecutor is poised to conclude its evidence-gathering stage in a more than two-year investigation into the veteran Swiss banker as well as Beat Stocker, a former close associate by the end of next month, a person familiar with the investigation told finews.com.

The duo spent nearly three months in custody in 2018 after allegations of wrong-doing involving a series of deals by Raiffeisen, a cooperatively-organized Swiss lender, and company holdings. Vincenz ran Raiffeisen from 1999 until 2015, including a period of heated dealmaking following the financial crisis of 2008/09. The retail bank was awash in cash and keen to diversify. 

Hand-Written Notes

The news come roughly six months after prosecutors won the right to unblock documents and files linked to Stocker. Among the evidence gleaned from them are hand-written notes Stocker maintained, the person said. Prosecutors weren’t able to unseal Vincenz’s data.

Since early March, prosecutors have continued to question roughly two dozen potential witnesses, via video-conferencing due to the coronavirus pandemic instead of in person. This and the data give a team led by chief prosecutor Marc Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel ammunition to potentially hit the duo with charges including acting in bad faith, misappropriation, and document forgery.

Salaries, Expenses Eyed

The cases stretch from a series of purchases by Raiffeisen including Aduno, a payments firm, and Investnet, a small and mid-cap private equity firm, as well as acquisitions by subsidiaries of Commtrain in 2007, Genève Credit & Leasing in 2012, and Eurokaution in 2014, the person said. The prosecutor is also looking at emoluments by Vincenz and Stocker – specifically their alleged use of salaries and expenses.

A spokesman for Zurich’s white-collar division prosecutor said it would issue a statement «in due time» about the development of the criminal investigation, and didn’t elaborate. Vincenz’s criminal defense lawyer didn't comment; Stocker's lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment.