Combating money laundering

The CDB was introduced in 1977 and sets out banks’ duties with regard to identifying the contracting partner and establishing the identity of the beneficial owner. It also prohibits active assistance in the flight of capital and tax evasion. In these respects, the CDB is at the centre of Switzerland’s pioneering efforts to combat money laundering.

The material provisions of the CDB (Arts 1-57 CDB) have the same status as an ordinance due to a reference in Art. 35 AMLO-FINMA and thus apply to all financial intermediaries as defined in Art. 2 para. 2 lets a-d AMLA (Art. 3 para. 1 AMLO-FINMA). The procedural provisions (Art. 58 CDB 20 onwards), meanwhile, constitute liberal self-regulation in the form of a contract between the SBA and its members as well as further banks in Switzerland. Both the CDB and the SBA’s commentary on it are updated periodically. Work on revising CDB 2020 and the SBA commentary is currently under way. Due to its dependence on the ongoing legislative project to increase transparency in relation to legal entities (TLEA), in particular as regards consistency in the definition of beneficial ownership, the revised CDB and commentary will not be available until 1 January 2027 at the earliest.

The banks and FINMA mandate statutory auditors to review the banks’ compliance with the CDB. Special investigators and a CDB Supervisory Board assess potential violations. In the event of a violation of the CDB, the bank at fault can be fined up to CHF 10 million. This sanctioning system operates in parallel with FINMA’s enforcement activity.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an international expert group based in Paris that sets global standards for combating money laundering as well as terrorist and proliferation financing. It was founded by the G7 states in 1989 and now has 40 members, including Switzerland. The FATF has published 40 recommendations on combating money laundering and terrorist financing. 

It conducts regular assessments, known as mutual evaluations, to check compliance with its recommendations in the individual member states. 

The fourth mutual evaluation of Switzerland took place in 2016, and the results were positive overall. The FATF recognised the quality of the Swiss apparatus for combating money laundering and terrorist financing and rated it as either “compliant” or “largely compliant” with regard to 31 of the 40 recommendations. Switzerland’s next comprehensive mutual evaluation is scheduled to take place in 2027/2028. 

The Swiss legislation on the prevention of money laundering is revised on an ongoing basis, in part to take account of international developments and the latest risk assessments by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). 

Last revision 

The most recent revision of the Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Anti-Money Laundering Act, AMLA) was adopted by the Swiss Parliament in March 2021 and entered into force on 1 January 2023. The revised AMLA includes the following new duties in particular: 

• Verifying the beneficial owner’s details 
• Regularly updating the customer’s details

On 30 August 2023, the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) opened a consultation concerning the Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities and the Identification of Beneficial Owners (Transparency of Legal Entities Act, TLEA). The SBA submitted a response and welcomes the federal government’s efforts to strengthen Switzerland’s apparatus for combating money laundering in line with international standards through the TLEA. A key element of this is a central register for recording the beneficial owners of companies. The focus is also on amendments to the AMLA. 

On 22 May 2024, the Federal Council submitted its dispatch on the TLEA to the Swiss Parliament. The Council of States Legal Affairs Committee decided in summer 2024 to split the proposal into two drafts: 

• Draft 1: Introduction of the transparency register
• Draft 2: New due diligence obligations for certain advisory activities in the anti-money laundering legislation

The Swiss Parliament is currently considering the drafts. 

Office
Dominik Eichenberger
Rechtsanwalt
Bahnhofplatz 5
Postfach
3001 Bern
Telefon: +41 (0) 31 326 50 00
E-Mail: vsb (at) fslaw.ch

Othmar Strasser
President; lawyer, former General Counsel at ZKB (1992–2016), judge at the Zurich Commercial Court, Au

Tamara Erez
Member; lawyer, Centro Studi Villa Negroni, Vezia

Sylvain Matthey
Member; lawyer, independent director and consultant, former Head of Legal and Compliance at Pictet, Lombard Odier and Banque Syz, Thônex

Marcel Schmocker
Member; lawyer, LL.M., former Managing Director and Senior Advisor, General Counsel Division, Credit Suisse AG, Muri

Martin Zuan
Member; MLaw, Owner and Partner Bankersforum, former Director PwC, Meilen

Jean-Baptiste Zufferey
Member; lawyer, LL.M., Prof. of Administrative Law at the Fribourg University Law Faculty, Givisiez

Dominik Eichenberger
Secretary; lawyer, Friedli & Schnidrig Attorneys-at-Law, Bern

Arun Chandasekharan
Deputy secretary; lawyer, Des Gouttes & Associés, Geneva

Nadine Balkanyi-Nordmann
Investigator; lawyer, Lexperience, Legal & Compliance, Services, Zurich

Frédérique Bensahel
Investigator; lawyer, FBT Avocats, Geneva

Daniele Calvarese
Investigator; lawyer, CSNLAW, Lugano

Morys Cavadini
Investigator; lawyer, BMA Brunoni Mottis & Associati Studio Legale SA, Lugano

Marquard Christen
Investigator; lawyer, CMS von Erlach Poncet AG, Zurich

Christian Lüscher
Investigator; lawyer, Lüscher Bischoff Rechtsanwälte, Zurich

Patrick Mouttet
Investigator; lawyer, Athena Avocats, Geneva