Swiss Probe Ex-minister Over Central Bank Scandal

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation against a former justice minister over a scandal that led to the country’s central bank chief quitting in January.

Prosecutors in the canton of Zurich say they are investigating Christoph Blocher on suspicion of breaching Swiss banking secrecy laws.

Blocher held the justice portfolio in Switzerland’s seven-member Cabinet from 2004 to 2007 and remains a leading figure in the nationalist Swiss People’s Party.

Prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday that they extended their existing probe against three other persons suspected of passing on confidential bank documents that implicated Swiss National Bank President Philipp Hildebrand in insider trading.

Hildebrand and the bank maintain his innocence.