Crypto Sellers Targeted: Swiss Prosecutors' Misguided War on P2P Traders

How Routine Stablecoin Sales on Regulated Platforms Are Being Treated as Serious Crimes

A Swiss citizen and entrepreneur is confronting grave fraud and money laundering accusations across two cantons, simply for selling his personally held stablecoins via a compliant, regulated peer-to-peer platform. This real-world ordeal reveals a troubling disconnect between the realities of digital asset trading and the way some prosecutors interpret financial trails.

The Scenario: An Ordinary Transaction Turns into a Nightmare

Picture this: You list your old motorcycle for sale on a trusted online platform. A buyer pays via bank transfer, you deliver the bike, and the deal closes. Months later, authorities claim the buyer's funds traced back to a scam victim, perhaps someone tricked by a fake investment pitch. You had zero contact with the victim and no reason to suspect anything amiss.

Now replace the motorcycle with Tether (USDT), a popular stablecoin, and the platform with Binance's peer-to-peer marketplace. The seller, a Swiss entrepreneur, was arrested, held in custody, hit with criminal charges, branded a money launderer, and saw every Swiss bank shut down his accounts. His companies faltered, and his long-established reputation as an economist and business professional was shattered. This isn't speculation; it's what unfolded.

Demystifying Peer-to-Peer Crypto Trading

Grasping the injustice requires clarity on how these platforms function. Binance P2P ranks among the globe's premier regulated venues for digital assets. The mechanics are simple yet robust:

• Sellers deposit their cryptocurrency into the platform's secure escrow and list it at a set rate.
• Buyers, having passed strict KYC verification, commit to a purchase.
• The system holds the seller's crypto in escrow while the buyer sends fiat (e.g., Swiss francs) directly to the seller's bank.
• Upon confirming payment receipt, the seller triggers release of the tokens to the buyer's wallet.

Direct interaction between parties is limited to trade logistics. Sellers gain no insight into the buyer's funding origins, nor do they influence post-purchase use of the crypto. Escrow exists to enforce fairness and deter misconduct on both sides.

The Prosecutors' Approach and Its Consequences

Here, a scam victim, duped by an impersonator posing as a celebrity, sent funds that, after passing through others, reached a Binance buyer who used them to acquire USDT from the accused. The seller delivered exactly as required: his own tokens, payment received, escrow released.

Nevertheless, authorities in two Swiss cantons pressed charges, one under art. 146 (fraud) of the Swiss Criminal Code, the other under art. 305bis (money laundering). Their apparent rationale: the seller's account received traceable proceeds from fraud, implying complicity.

This interpretation is not merely mistaken, it's profoundly risky.

The Legal Flaw: Intent Is Missing

Swiss criminal justice rests on culpability: punishment demands fault. Fraud (art. 146) necessitates intentional deception. Money laundering (art. 305bis) demands knowledge or suspicion that funds stem from crime, plus actions to conceal origins.

None applies here. The seller never engaged the victim, uttered no falsehoods, and performed no obfuscation, the fiat arrived transparently from a verified Binance counterparty. This was a legitimate sale of personal assets in a standard marketplace setting. No deceit. No hiding. No criminal Vorsatz (intent).

Prosecutors seem to have chased the transaction flow without comprehending P2P dynamics. In conventional banking, a direct link might imply connection; in crypto P2P, escrow and platform separation sever that assumption. Sellers lack visibility into upstream sources.

The Devastating Toll on the Accused

The fallout has been catastrophic. Detention followed accusation. Banks nationwide closed accounts, deeming him high-risk. Businesses collapsed under the strain. A career spanning decades evaporated overnight.

All before trial. All based on charges, not proof. Presumption of innocence rang hollow when livelihoods were dismantled preemptively.

The accused cooperated fully, offering to return to Switzerland, supply records, and detail every step. Submissions in April 2025, August 2025, and November 2025 outlined Binance P2P operations thoroughly. Prosecutions continued regardless.

The Slippery Slope: A Precedent That Endangers Everyone

If upheld, this stance implies liability for any regulated P2P seller whose buyer's funds later prove tainted, regardless of ignorance or inability to check. By extension, a shop clerk accepting cash from stolen proceeds, or a landlord receiving rent from illicit earnings, could face equivalent charges. The parallel exposes the illogic.

Swiss law offers post-acquittal redress under art. 429 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: reimbursement for losses, costs, and non-material harm. Yet no payout repairs ruined enterprises, erased reputations, or lost years.

Why launch such cases at all?

Path Forward: Reforms Switzerland Needs

This situation underscores three pressing reforms:

1. Specialized training for prosecutors , Those tackling crypto matters must grasp P2P escrow, blockchain visibility limits, and marketplace safeguards. Blind chain-tracing invites errors.
2. Restraint and evidence-first enforcement , Arrests, charges, and freezes demand clear proof of intent before devastating lives. Flow analysis alone falls short.
3. Stronger safeguards against prosecutorial mistakes , Beyond compensation, systems should deter baseless actions and promote accountability to avoid repeating harm.

Closing Reflection

Switzerland stands as a beacon of legal precision, financial innovation, and equity. A nation leading in global finance should readily separate genuine criminals from ordinary participants in lawful digital markets. Failure to do so sends a stark warning to crypto users, fintech innovators, and digital participants everywhere: in Switzerland, even compliant sales of your own assets can invite ruin.

This account draws from active proceedings in multiple Swiss cantons. Specific identities remain protected amid ongoing matters. The accused denies wrongdoing and is exercising all available legal avenues.

About the issue: This piece explores the clash between cryptocurrency trading mechanics and Swiss criminal enforcement, spotlighting the perils for P2P participants when authorities overlook platform realities.