Swiss prosecutors drop probe into banking blog

Summary

• Zurich prosecutors dropped their investigation into Inside Paradeplatz after a raid over alleged banking secrecy breaches.
• A Zurich court found no reasonable suspicion against the founder, protecting journalistic sources and barring evidence use.
• The probe's termination on December 8, though not yet legally binding, follows press freedom concerns after the initial raid.

ZURICH - Prosecutors in Zurich have ended an investigation into a leading Swiss banking blog whose offices were raided this summer on suspicion it had breached banking secrecy laws.

Police had searched the offices and home of the founder of Zurich-based blog Inside Paradeplatz, confiscating a laptop, a mobile phone and documents in a probe over reporting published in 2016 about a former boss of bank Raiffeisen Switzerland.

Based on later findings by a Zurich court that reasonable suspicion against the founder was not met, and that protection of journalistic sources prohibited use of the evidence gathered, prosecutors for the canton of Zurich decided to drop the probe.

In a statement, prosecutors said the proceedings were discontinued on Dec 8 after a further review, but noted that the order was not yet legally binding.

The raid on the blog stirred concern among advocates of press freedom in Switzerland. REUTERS