SWITZERLAND - Lawyers representing Daniel Gloor in the Swiss BVK corruption scandal have offered the public prosecutor a deal that would involve a part-admission of guilt and 30 months in prison for their client.

Gloor, a former head of asset management at the canton of Zurich's pension fund, has been charged with taking bribes and neglecting his duty of care.

Earlier this week at the three-day trial, Gloor admitted to having taken bribes, but he estimated the amount at approximately CHF1.2m, while the public prosecutor claimed he had received more than CHF1.6m.

The public prosecutor asked that Gloor be sentenced to six years in prison and repay more than CHF1.1m to the BVK, the Swiss daily newspaper NZZ reported.

During the hearing, Gloor conceded to having "taken a wrong path" at some point in his life and said he had "never wanted to hurt anyone".

But the Swiss news daily also noted that he claimed the bribes had never been linked to investment decisions he made for the BVK, and that he had always observed the duty of care to act in the fund's best interest.

He also argued that one investment he made in an asset manager - which later lost the BVK several thousand francs - had kept the company from going bust, which would have meant even greater losses for the pension scheme.

Today, Gloor's lawyers offered the court six months unconditional prison sentence and another two years in prison should he be found guilty of any additional offence in the two years following the verdict.

This would entail no further jail time for Gloor, as he has already spent six months behind bars awaiting trial.

Gloor's lawyers also called on the court to acquit him of embezzlement and money laundering charges, as well as throw out a number of bribery charges.

A trial against another asset manager reportedly connected with the BVK scandal is set for mid-September, when further proceedings against already convicted Thomas Leupin will also take place, and a final verdict on Gloor is expected.

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