In a stark turn of events, Swiss state prosecutors are demanding that 19 former Swissair executives be fined and handed conditional prison sentences of up to 22 months.

In what is Switzerland's biggest-ever economic crime trial and one which some say is turning into something of a soap opera with added teeth, prosecutors are seeking conditional prison sentences for most of the executives, which effectively means that they will not serve any time in jail and the fines may be conditional on good behaviour.

But where the landscape has changed relates to the exceptions that prosecutors are asking for.

Prosecutors are asking the court for a conditional 22-month sentence and a non-conditional sentence of six months for Swissair's last Ceo Mario Corti, plus a conditional fine of Swf.1.08m ($874,423).

[Corti was the Swissair Ceo who told the then President and Ceo of Nuance Peter Petersen that the Nuance Group was core, only to change his mind in a matter of weeks, leaving Petersen the difficult task of finding a buyer).

Other executives who prosecutors want to make special examples of include Eric Honegger, Corti's predecessor, who faces a conditional 8-month prison sentence and a conditional fine of Swf.90,000 ($72,868) and former Ceo Philippe Bruggisser who could be looking at a conditional prison sentence of 15 months and a conditional fine of Swf.400,000 ($323,860).

SAirGroup, Swissair's parent company, collapsed in 2001 with debts of around Swf.17bn ($13.64bn) and state prosecutors are alleging irregularities which include defrauding creditors, falsifying documents, breach of trust, and making false statements.

Prosecutors are also calling for eight former members of the Swissair board of directors to be given conditional prison sentences of between six and 10 months and fines of between Swf.38,000 and Swf.54,000 ($30,766 to $43,721) each.

Current court proceedings are expected to be completed by March 9, after which appeals may be launched if any of the individuals are found guilty of wrongdoings.