Ex-Gunvor employee found guilty of corruption by Swiss court

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GENEVA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - A top Swiss court on Thursday found a former employee of commodity trading firm Gunvor guilty of corrupting officials in the Republic of Congo in exchange for oil contracts.

The case is a rare incident of a corruption case involving Switzerland's $80 billion commodities trading sector going to court. It follows the conviction last month of rival trading house Trafigura and a former executive for corruption in a case involving Angolan oil deals.

Thursday's ruling involved bribes of over $35 million intended, at least in part, for Congolese public officials over a period of 18 months between 2010-2011, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court said in a statement.

It sentenced the defendant, a French national who worked as a finance manager, to a suspended prison sentence of 24 months and ordered him to pay a $950,000 compensation fee, the statement said.

Gunvor declined to comment.

Reuters did not name the defendant, who no longer works for Gunvor, because Swiss law forbids it, barring rare exceptions. He categorically denies the charges, his lawyer previously told Reuters.