When a federal authority investigates, what counts is your first response. Act without delay. I represent private individuals and companies before the FTA, FOCBS, FDF, COMCO, FGB, Swissmedic and other Swiss federal authorities.
Confidential. Dependable. Solution-focused.
Received a letter from a federal authority? The earlier the defence is involved, the more room for manoeuvre remains.
Please send details of the proceedings and any relevant documents as PDFs by email – for an initial enquiry your name, the authority involved and a request for a call back are sufficient.
- Telephone+41 78 333 43 90
- Emailbasel@durust.ch
- Webwww.verwaltungsstrafrecht-advokatur.ch
- OfficeMissionsstrasse 82, 4055 Basel
- Office hoursMon–Fri, 9–12 | 13–19
In the event of an arrest or a search of your premises we are available around the clock.
The Lawyer
Mag. iur. Yalçın Tekinoğlu
Criminal Defence Lawyer · Certified Specialist in Criminal LawAs a specialist in tax, customs and business criminal law, he takes on cases throughout Switzerland. He previously worked in leading law firms in international tax law and at an international investment bank in Frankfurt am Main.
Drawing on his language skills and intercultural experience, Mr Tekinoğlu has advised and represented clients from more than 100 nations.
Der CAS in Administrative Criminal Law at the Swiss Distance University is the only specialised postgraduate programme in this field.
- Admissionsince 2014, Germany
- OfficeDürüst Swiss, Missionsstrasse 82, 4055 Basel
- Contactbasel@durust.ch · +41 78 333 43 90
In numerous high-profile proceedings Mr Tekinoğlu has acted as the point of contact for press and broadcasters – with the same restraint and objectivity that characterise his conduct of a case.
Further appearances include ntv, RPR1 and Newstime.
Career
Education, professional experience and admissions at a glance.
School-leaving certificate
Secondary education completed in Germany.
Officer training, German Navy
Cadet training aboard the sail training ship Gorch Fock, participation in overseas deployments, several commendations.
Studies in Hamburg, Heidelberg and Mannheim
Law, economics and political science. Scholarship of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; legal assistant at Hengeler Mueller, Gleiss Lutz and Jefferies International, Investment Banking & Global Capital Markets.
Legal traineeship
Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court.
Admission to the bar
Karlsruhe Bar Association.
Entry in the Basel-Stadt register of lawyers
EU/EFTA list pursuant to Art. 28 of the Swiss Lawyers Act (BGFA).
Certified Specialist in Criminal Law
Conferred by the Karlsruhe Bar Association.
CAS in Administrative Criminal Law (ongoing)
Swiss Distance University.
11 languages
Mr Tekinoğlu is fluent in German, Turkish, English and French and has a working knowledge of Arabic, Russian and Italian. The team additionally speaks Spanish, Albanian, Bosnian and Mandinka.
Professional bodies
Deutsche Strafverteidiger e.V.
Deutscher Anwaltverein e.V.
Basel Bar Association
Basel Criminal Law Section
Swiss Bar Association
Dürüst Swiss
2014 Founding of Dürüst Legal | Tax | Criminal Defence, Heidelberg
2019 Dürüst Hamburg
2025 Dürüst Mannheim
2026 Dürüst Swiss, Basel
a further office in Zurich is planned
Offices
Location of the offices with the main points of orientation.
Administrative criminal law governs the sanctioning of offences against federal administrative statutes – outside the ordinary criminal process.
Administrative criminal proceedings follow their own rules – closer to the administration than to the courtroom, yet with the same consequences.
The legal basis is the Federal Act on Administrative Criminal Law (VStrR) of 1974. It applies whenever a federal statute assigns the prosecution of an offence to an administrative authority. The provisions of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code apply in a supplementary capacity.
One distinctive feature is corporate responsibility: under Art. 6 VStrR, a principal who fails to prevent an offence may also be held liable. In addition, a levy or payment may be recovered retrospectively even where no individual is punished.
Administrative Criminal Law
Unlike ordinary criminal proceedings, the competent federal authority investigates the matter itself – acting as both investigating and prosecuting authority. This changes strategy, time limits and the evidential position from the outset.
Investigation
The authority opens proceedings, gathers evidence and may order interviews, searches of premises or seizures.
Penalty order or discontinuance
At the close of the investigation the authority issues an order – or discontinues the proceedings if the allegation is not substantiated.
Objection
An objection may be lodged against an adverse order within the applicable time limit – a decisive step for the further course of the proceedings.
Judicial determination
If the authority maintains its position, the case proceeds to the competent criminal court – only at this stage in a conventional judicial setting.
Revision of Administrative Criminal Law
Administrative criminal law is in transition: the Federal Council is pursuing a complete revision of the Federal Act on Administrative Criminal Law (VStrR) in order to modernise the procedure and to reorganise procedural rights, time limits and competences.
Following the close of the consultation procedure, the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) was instructed to prepare a dispatch. An early assessment is therefore worthwhile for both pending and future proceedings.
Criminal defence across the full breadth of criminal law
Alongside administrative criminal law, Mr Tekinoğlu accepts instructions in general criminal law – from the first police interview through to the main hearing. He also represents injured parties seeking to assert their rights as private claimants in criminal proceedings. Proceedings leave little room for delay; representation therefore begins where the eventual outcome is genuinely decided.
General criminal law
Conventional criminal proceedings under the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) – from offences against property and the person through to complex economic crime. Defence at every stage, from first contact with the police to the main hearing.
Substantive criminal law
Defence beyond administrative criminal law: substantive criminal law, the law on measures and collateral consequences such as expulsion from Switzerland or confiscation – always mindful of the full implications of proceedings for the individual concerned.
Criminal procedure
Rigorous protection of procedural rights under the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (StPO) – access to the file, applications for evidence, review of detention and appeals are deployed deliberately to strengthen the defence.
Principles of defence
The principles that guide every instruction.
Early involvement
Decisions taken before the first interview can no longer be reversed later on.
Considered statements
What is said to the authority – or deliberately left unsaid – shapes the entire case file.
Proportionality
Coercive measures, the taking of evidence and the level of sanction are consistently examined for lawfulness.
Availability
In administrative criminal proceedings, hours matter, not weeks.
Candour
You will be told how we assess your position, even when the answer is unwelcome.
Persistence
Proceedings are not over while an appeal remains available.
Specialist knowledge
Only genuine specialisation reveals the fine distinctions that determine the outcome of proceedings.
Experience
Years of practice show which strategy holds in which situation – and which works only on paper.
Tenacity
Where authorities and public prosecutors make mistakes, this is challenged consistently – through every instance if necessary.
Types of proceedings and the competent federal authorities
Administrative criminal law is not a sideline of this practice; it is its core.
Tax criminal proceedings
Allegations of tax evasion, tax fraud or fiscal fraud within the remit of the Federal Tax Administration.
Customs criminal proceedings
Proceedings concerning imports and exports, excise duties and border controls, conducted by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.
Financial market proceedings
Enforcement proceedings concerning unauthorised financial market activity, market abuse or breaches of supervisory duties.
Money laundering proceedings
Allegations of inadequate anti-money laundering diligence and breaches of reporting and clarification duties.
Gambling Act
Proceedings concerning unauthorised gambling or breaches of the Gambling Act, prosecuted by the Federal Gaming Board.
Competition proceedings
Sanction proceedings concerning anti-competitive agreements or abuse of a dominant market position.
Therapeutic products proceedings
Proceedings concerning breaches of the Therapeutic Products Act – for instance in the manufacture, distribution or advertising of medicinal products.
Transport law
Administrative criminal proceedings in the field of public transport and railway infrastructure.
CO₂ emissions
Proceedings concerning breaches of CO₂ and environmental regulations, prosecuted by the Federal Office for the Environment.
Energy Act
Allegations relating to energy legislation and federal subsidy schemes.
Firearms offences
Criminal proceedings concerning breaches of firearms legislation, such as unauthorised acquisition or possession.
Undeclared work
Inspections and proceedings concerning unregistered employment – with consequences in social insurance, immigration and tax law.
Agriculture and food
Proceedings concerning direct payments, labelling and origin declarations as well as food safety requirements.
Data protection
The criminal provisions of the revised Data Protection Act – directed at responsible individuals rather than at the company.
War material and export controls
Export, brokerage and transit of war material and dual-use goods, as well as breaches of embargo measures.
Precious metals control
Fineness, hallmarking and trade in melt material – proceedings against watch and jewellery businesses and dealers.
Animal welfare and animal disease
Proceedings concerning the keeping, transport and import of animals as well as reporting and registration duties.
Military criminal law
Defence before the military justice system – in cases of refusal of service, insubordination and other military offences.
Hourly rate
In criminal matters, fees are charged on a time basis. Our hourly rate is generally CHF 400, plus disbursements and VAT.
Where particular circumstances apply – in particular the need for specialist expertise or a very high value at stake – the hourly rate may be up to CHF 800, plus disbursements and VAT.
CHF 400 to CHF 800 per hour, plus disbursements and VATFree enquiry
You are welcome to make a free enquiry at any time and to arrange an initial consultation without obligation. Please describe your case as precisely as possible and provide all relevant documents from the authority, the court, the public prosecutor or the police.
We will respond promptly to your enquiry – as a rule on the same working day – with a recommended course of action.
Fixed fee
You may also agree a fixed fee with us for each stage of the proceedings separately – for example the investigation, the first-instance proceedings, the appeal or the complaint proceedings.
The fee is determined by the estimated workload, the significance of the matter and the difficulty of the case. This allows you to anticipate the costs through to the end of that stage without additional charges.