Dossier on money laundering prevention

According to the Risk Monitor published for the first time in December 2019, money laundering remains one of the principal risks for FINMA’s supervised institutions and the Swiss financial centre.

The Swiss financial centre is a leading global cross-border wealth management hub for private clients. This makes it particularly exposed to money-laundering risks.

In 2018 FINMA concluded its investigations and proceedings against institutions involved in recent global corruption and money-laundering scandals (Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, FIFA, Petrobras).

In recent years, Swiss financial intermediaries have identified an increasing number of suspicious clients, which they have reported to the MROS.

FINMA’s strategic aim is to have a long-term positive influence on institutions’ conduct in preventing money laundering. It therefore makes concerted efforts in the areas of supervision and enforcement to prevent money laundering.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) specifies the procedures a financial intermediary should follow if it suspects assets might be illegal.

FINMA has set itself the goal of achieving a sustained impact on institutions in their efforts to prevent money laundering. Its focus in 2017 was on institutions’ reporting systems and their risk management.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) conducted its fourth country review of Switzerland from 2015 to 2016. It examines a country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system, with a particular focus on financial market regulation.