GENEVA: Switzerland’s financial markets authority says it has taken action in two cases of insider trading and market manipulation, seizing illegal profits.

The authority, FINMA, said on Friday that 1.4 million Swiss francs (dollars) in ill-gotten profits were seized from a former corporate board member who “repeatedly and systematically flouted the ban on using non-public information” to trade in shares of Swiss companies between 2013 and 2016.

FINMA did not specify the companies or individuals involved. Swiss media reports identified the individual as Hans Ziegler, a former board member of two industrial groups.

The other case involved a small trading company that was operating without a license and altered the market by making large orders in Swiss shares that were not executed. Three of its traders received industry bans.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2017