What is the Swiss AML Act? An overview and history of AML/CFT in Switzerland
Swiss AML initiatives came in three dated steps. On 1 August 1990, Criminal Code article 305bis made money laundering a crime. On 1 April 1998, the Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of 10 October 1997 took effect (art. 44): the AMLA, or Geldwäschereigesetz. On 1 October 2026, its latest revision took effect together with a new Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities (TJPG).
Switzerland is outside the EU, so its rulebook does not follow the directives behind the AML rules of other jurisdictions.
The current AMLA text covers anti money laundering, combating terrorist financing (CFT, which older guides call CTF) and due care in financial business. Since 1 October 2026, that due care expressly includes preventing breaches of measures taken under the Embargo Act of 22 March 2002 (art. 1).
Around the act sit Criminal Code articles 305bis and 305ter, the FINMA AML Ordinance (AMLO-FINMA) and CDB 20, the banks' due diligence agreement. Since 1 January 2016 a qualified tax offense, tax fraud under the federal direct tax or tax harmonization acts with more than CHF 300,000 evaded per tax period, also counts as a predicate (art. 305bis(1bis)). Sector laws (the Banking Act, CISA, FinIA and the Federal Gaming Act) name the licensed intermediaries, and the Financial Market Supervision Act (FINMASA) sets FINMA's powers.
FATF, which Switzerland joined in 1990, last assessed the system in 2016. Since its 2023 follow up report, the country has been rated compliant on 8 Recommendations, largely compliant on 29 and partially compliant on 3. It is on neither of FATF's lists of high risk and monitored jurisdictions in their June 2026 edition.
Who regulates AML in Switzerland? AML and financial crime authorities
| Body | Legal basis (in force, November 2026) | Role in AML |
|---|---|---|
| FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) | AMLA art. 12(a); art. 18(1) | Supervises banks, fintech license holders, securities firms, fund managers, life insurers, market infrastructures and DLT trading facilities; recognizes and supervises the SROs |
| Supervisory organizations (SOs) | AMLA art. 12a(3); FINMASA art. 43a | Supervise asset managers and trustees licensed under FinIA, each SO under a FINMA license |
| Self regulatory organizations (SROs) | AMLA arts. 12(c), (d), 14 | Supervise para banking firms and, since 1 October 2026, advisers; both must join one |
| Federal Gaming Board (ESBK) and the intercantonal authority | AMLA art. 12(b), (bbis) | Casinos; operators of large scale games |
| Central Office for Precious Metals Control | AMLA art. 12(bter) | Assayers and group companies under the Precious Metals Control Act |
| MROS, at the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) | AMLA art. 23 | The FIU: receives and analyzes reports and files charges with a prosecutor on reasonable suspicion (art. 23(4)) |
| Federal Department of Finance (FDF) | FINMASA art. 50; TJPG arts. 39, 45 | Prosecutes AMLA and TJPG fines; hosts the register control office |
| Federal Office of Justice | TJPG art. 20 | Runs the transparency register |
| SECO (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs) | Embargo Act art. 2 and the Federal Council's sanctions ordinances | Publishes the Swiss list of sanctioned persons, companies and organizations; its search tool shows only directly listed parties, not ownership or control links |
| Swiss Bankers Association | AMLO-FINMA art. 35 | Publishes CDB 20, the identification rules banks and securities firms apply |
FINMA supervises directly. Most other firms answer to an SRO that FINMA recognizes. Dealers sit outside both: a dealer that takes cash above its article 8a line must hire an audit firm (art. 15(1)), and that firm reports to MROS when the dealer fails to (art. 15(5)).
MROS is not a supervisor. According to fedpol, reports, attachments and follow up information reach it through goAML only. MROS adds its own analysis and decides case by case whether a report goes to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) or a cantonal prosecutor.
Who must comply with the Swiss AML Act?
The act covers three groups (art. 2(1)): financial intermediaries, dealers who take cash in trade and, since 1 October 2026, advisers. Article 2(2) lists the licensed intermediaries, from banks and asset managers to casinos and precious metals assayers. Article 2(3) adds para banking: anyone who professionally accepts, holds, invests or transfers assets for others, including lenders, leasing firms, payment providers, currency and securities traders and investment advisers.
Advisers are covered when they professionally assist financial transactions, fundraising included, for property deals, for forming a Swiss entity with no operating business or any entity seated abroad, or for managing a non operating entity, paying into or out of one, or buying and selling entities through one (art. 2(3bis)), and when they provide a domicile for more than six months (art. 2(3ter)). Low risk deals are excluded, such as inheritance transfers or transfers under CHF 5 million paid entirely through supervised intermediaries (art. 2(4ter)). Litigation work by lawyers and notaries stays outside (art. 2(4)(f)), and a lawyer or notary reports only on a financial transaction for a client, with information outside professional secrecy (art. 9(2)). Cantonal notary offices follow once their canton adapts its law (Federal Council, 12 June 2026).
Picture a Zurich fiduciary that pays in the capital of a client's new domiciliary company and hosts its address for a year. That makes it an adviser: unless FINMA, a supervisory organization or an SRO already supervises it, it joins an SRO (arts. 12a, 14(1)), identifies the client and the beneficial owner (art. 8b) and reports suspicion to MROS (art. 9(1ter)).
What are the AML compliance requirements for Swiss entities?
Swiss AML compliance, run in house or through compliance services, follows one process: twelve duties, each with its article as in force on 1 October 2026. The last column says how complead, formerly Sanction Scanner, supports the twelve. Sanction Scanner, the screening product, is part of complead. Three rules bind the duties:
- Duty and right. A financial intermediary must report without delay on knowledge or reasonable suspicion that assets come from a felony or qualified tax offense or are tied to laundering, a criminal or terrorist organization or terrorist financing, when it breaks off talks for that reason, and when its art. 6(2)(d) check gives reason to assume a match with data passed on under art. 22a (art. 9(1)). Criminal Code article 305ter(2) adds a right to report.
- The 40 day clock. If MROS has not said within 40 working days of such a report that it passed the case to a prosecutor, the intermediary may end the relationship, releasing large withdrawals only in a traceable form (art. 9b(1), (2)). An adviser that reports may end the relationship at any time (art. 9b(2bis)).
- One owner. Firms under AMLO-FINMA name an AML unit (art. 24). It, or another independent unit, drafts the risk analysis, which the board or top management approves and updates periodically (art. 25(2)).
| Obligation | Legal basis (as in force, November 2026) | What the law asks | What complead records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verify the contracting party | AMLA art. 3(1), (2), (4), (5) | Identify the client from a document of evidentiary value when the relationship starts and, for a legal person, check who opens it on its behalf; in occasional cash business only from the significant value the supervisor or SRO sets, or on suspicion. | Each customer carries one risk score, fed by onboarding, screening and monitoring. |
| Establish the beneficial owner | AMLA arts. 2a(3), 4; CDB 20 for banks and securities firms (AMLO-FINMA art. 35); AMLO-FINMA art. 56 for Title 5 firms | Establish and verify the beneficial owner with due care, with a written or text declaration where art. 4(2) requires one; for an operating legal entity, anyone holding at least 25 percent of capital or votes, alone or with others, or controlling it otherwise, failing that the top executive. | Owners are traced upward through each holding until named individuals appear, and any link that stays open is flagged as unresolved. |
| Politically exposed persons | AMLA arts. 2a(1), (4); 6(3), (4) | Treat foreign PEPs and people close to them as higher risk in every case; domestic and international organization PEPs only together with a further risk criterion; a domestic PEP stops counting 18 months after leaving office. | A PEP screening hit enters the customer's risk score; a named reviewer decides, and the file shows who. |
| Special duty of clarification | AMLA art. 6(2) | Clarify background and purpose when a transaction or relationship looks unusual, unless clearly lawful; points to a felony or qualified tax offense, a criminal or terrorist organization or terrorist financing; carries higher risk; or matches or closely resembles data passed on under art. 22a. | A rule can be limited to one product, segment or jurisdiction, so a higher risk segment can run its own enhanced due diligence rules. |
| Risk analysis and organization | AMLA art. 8; AMLO-FINMA arts. 24, 25(2) | Take the organizational measures against laundering, terrorist financing and, since 1 October 2026, breaches of Embargo Act measures; firms under AMLO-FINMA add an AML unit and a risk analysis approved by the board or top management. | Every rule or threshold edit gets a new version that logs the author, the time and the reason; one click restores the previous version. |
| Suspicious activity report | AMLA arts. 9, 10, 10a | Report to MROS "unverzüglich" (without delay) on knowledge or reasonable suspicion; freeze the linked assets once MROS says it passed the report to a prosecutor, at once after an art. 22a data match, and for up to five working days (art. 10); tell neither the client nor third parties, where supervisors and auditors are not third parties, another intermediary may be told only in the cases of art. 10a(2) and (3), a parent company abroad only under art. 10a(3bis), and the firm may still defend its own interests in civil, criminal or administrative proceedings (art. 10a(6)). | Reporting support within case management; the alert behind a report shows which rule fired and on which signals. |
| Sanctions | Embargo Act (SR 946.231) and its ordinances; AMLA arts. 1, 8 since 1 October 2026 | Prevent breaches of the Swiss sanctions ordinances through organizational measures, in practice by checking clients and payments against the list SECO publishes, and apply the freezes and reports each ordinance sets. | Every sanctions search is kept in the audit trail, searches with no match included. |
| Ongoing monitoring | AMLO-FINMA art. 20; AMLA art. 7(1bis) | Monitor relationships and transactions effectively and update client records periodically by risk; banks and securities firms run an IT based system unless they have few clients, beneficial owners or transactions (art. 20(2), (4)). | API triggers start or stop the monitoring of a single name, so a closed relationship drops off the list. |
| Payment transparency | AMLO-FINMA art. 10 | With each payment order, send the payer's name, account number and address (or date and place of birth, client number or national ID number) and the payee's name and account number, or a transaction reference where there is no account; domestic orders may carry only the account number or reference if the rest follows on request within three working days. | Transaction screening checks payer and payee through the API while the transfer is being processed. |
| Register discrepancy report | TJPG arts. 30, 54 | From 1 April 2027, a financial intermediary under AMLA art. 2(2) or (3) reports to the register within 30 days a discrepancy that casts doubt on beneficial owner data and remains after the client was told and given reasonable time to fix it; for a company missing from the register that confirms it is on the two year track, no report is due until that track ends (art. 54(2)). | Continuous monitoring picks up a change in shareholding, directors, status or filings, and the new party is screened. |
| Record keeping | AMLA art. 7(1), (3) | Keep records that let a qualified third party judge each transaction and relationship and compliance with the act, for at least ten years after the relationship or transaction ends. | Each screening search is stored with the user, the search term, the time and the outcome. |
| Training | AMLA art. 8; AMLO-FINMA art. 24(2) | Ensure sufficient staff training and controls; in firms under AMLO-FINMA the AML unit plans and oversees internal AML training. | Training stays with the firm; complead keeps the alert and decision records it can draw on. |
What are the KYC requirements in Switzerland?
KYC in Switzerland depends on the supervisor. Banks and securities firms identify clients and controlling persons under CDB 20, the agreement of 13 June 2018 that AMLO-FINMA article 35 has applied since 1 January 2020. The franc lines in articles 51 to 56 bind only the ordinance's Title 5 firms: fintech license holders, asset managers, trustees and DLT trading facilities (art. 43a).
For them, identification starts at CHF 5,000 in currency exchange and CHF 15,000 in other cash business (art. 51), and at CHF 1,000 in virtual currency where there is neither a lasting relationship nor a money transfer (art. 51a). Transfers abroad always need it; incoming transfers above CHF 1,000 need the payee identified (art. 52). Article 56 sets their 25 percent declaration for unlisted operating companies. Para banking firms follow their SRO's lines (AMLA art. 3(5)).
| Rule | Switzerland (in force, November 2026) | EU, AMLR from 10 July 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | AMLA, a national act; EU AML law does not bind Switzerland | Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 applies directly in member states |
| Direct supervision | FINMA, SOs and SROs by sector (AMLA arts. 12, 12a) | The EU's anti money laundering authority in Frankfurt supervises selected institutions from 2028 (Regulation (EU) 2024/1620) |
| Dealer cash | Due diligence above CHF 100,000, above CHF 15,000 for precious metals and stones (since 1 October 2026) and on any cash for real estate dealers; split payments count together (AMLA art. 8a) | Cash for goods or services capped at €10,000 (AMLR art. 80) |
| Record keeping | At least ten years (AMLA art. 7(3)) | Five years |
The transparency register: what changed on 1 October 2026?
Picture a Zug GmbH held 60 percent by a Cypriot holding and 40 percent by its founder. Until October 2026 no federal register showed who stood behind it. Now the GmbH files its beneficial owners with one: the founder, and any person who ultimately controls the holding.
The TJPG took effect on 1 October 2026, and the Federal Office of Justice runs the register after a pilot with about 2,500 companies.
A beneficial owner, often called the ultimate beneficial owner, holds at least 25 percent of capital or votes, directly or indirectly, alone or with others, or controls the company otherwise; failing that, the top manager counts (art. 4). Foreign legal entities file too when they have a registered Swiss branch, effective management in Switzerland, or own or acquire Swiss real estate (art. 2(1)(b)). Exemptions include listed companies and subsidiaries more than 75 percent held by listed companies (art. 3).
The register is not public. The authorities listed in article 26 read it, and intermediaries and advisers only as far as their AMLA due diligence requires (art. 27). Entries are declaratory, and an intermediary may rely on them when its own AMLA check, made with due care, finds nothing different (art. 23(2)).
That check is where the comparison happens: the client's beneficial ownership declaration under AMLA article 4(2) sits beside the entry, and KYB and UBO verification confirms the entity against official registers.
When must a company file its beneficial owners?
New companies file within a month of commercial registration and report changes within a month of learning of them (TJPG arts. 9(4), 10). Existing Swiss companies file within a month of their first register change after 1 October 2026, at the latest three to six months after that date by company type (art. 51(1), (3)), or by 1 October 2028 if every beneficial owner is a registered partner or officer (art. 51(2)). Foreign entities have six months (art. 53).
Results of non-compliance: what are the AML penalties in Switzerland?
| Offense or breach | Basis | Maximum (in force, November 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Money laundering: frustrating the tracing or seizure of assets the offender knows or must assume come from a felony or qualified tax offense | Criminal Code art. 305bis(1) | 3 years in prison or a monetary penalty |
| Serious laundering, for example as a member of a criminal or terrorist organization or of a laundering gang, or commercial laundering with large turnover or substantial profit | Criminal Code art. 305bis(2) | 5 years in prison or a monetary penalty |
| Failing to establish the beneficial owner with due care when professionally handling others' assets | Criminal Code art. 305ter(1) | 1 year in prison or a monetary penalty |
| Company liability for laundering | Criminal Code art. 102(1), (2) | CHF 5 million; regardless of individual liability where the company did not take all necessary and reasonable organizational measures to prevent the offense |
| Breach of the duty to report | AMLA art. 37 | CHF 500,000 if intentional; CHF 150,000 if negligent, and since 1 October 2026 minor negligent cases are not prosecuted |
| Dealer that hires no audit firm | AMLA art. 38 | CHF 100,000 if intentional; CHF 10,000 if negligent |
| Register filing or reporting breaches, or false statements to the control office | TJPG art. 43 | CHF 500,000 if intentional |
| Intentionally ignoring a final control office order that warned of this penalty | TJPG art. 44 | CHF 100,000 |
| FINMA measures for serious breaches of supervisory law | FINMASA arts. 33, 35, 37 | Ban from a management role for up to five years, confiscation of profits, license withdrawal; no fines |
Two tracks run side by side. Prison terms and monetary penalties come from the criminal courts, while the FDF prosecutes the AMLA and TJPG fines (FINMASA art. 50; TJPG art. 45). FINMA imposes no administrative fines; it confiscates profits, bans managers and withdraws licenses. A laundering offense can also reach the company itself under article 102(2), even when no employee is convicted, if its organization fell short.
FINMA's latest findings and the Julius Baer order
FINMA's own findings show where Swiss programs fall short. In Guidance 04/2026 of 4 June 2026, on the risk analysis under AMLO-FINMA article 25(2), it found that banks and FinIA institutions sometimes lacked explicit exclusions of countries, client segments, services or products, or set exclusions that did not fit their business model. The newest case below came from FINMA itself.
| Case | Date (status, November 2026) | Measure | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Julius Baer | 29 September 2026 (order not yet final) | Profit of about CHF 10 million confiscated; CHF 250 million in extra capital until it has exited clients outside its risk appetite; reports to FINMA until 2032 | For years it did not sufficiently clarify the source of assets of clients linked to two Russian PEPs, breached its reporting duties and made a 2019 KYC exception to its own policy; FINMA's fifth proceeding against the bank since 2017 | FINMA |
| MBaer Merchant Bank AG | 26 February 2026 (published 2 March 2026; proposal, not final) | FinCEN proposed barring covered US financial institutions from opening or keeping correspondent accounts for it (section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act) | Financial support to illicit actors linked to Russia and Iran, according to FinCEN | FinCEN (91 FR 10034) |
How do screening and monitoring apply in Switzerland?
A FINMA audit or an SRO review reads records: who was screened, which rule fired, who decided and when. complead writes those records as the work happens, on one AI native platform for AML, KYC and fraud.
Names go through client screening and ongoing monitoring, which looks for each one within 3,500+ sanctions, PEP and watchlists from 220+ jurisdictions, refreshed every 15 minutes. Sanctions lists can take a lower fuzzy matching threshold than watchlists, because thresholds are set per list type and per single list. Monitoring of a name starts and stops through API triggers when a relationship opens or closes.
Picture a fintech license holder paying out transfers that arrive from abroad. Its CHF 1,000 line for identifying the payee (AMLO-FINMA art. 52(2)) becomes a rule in transaction monitoring, built without code and tested against 30, 60 or 90 days of real history before it goes live. Agents clear the routine cases, each with its evidence, narrative and work log attached. The compliance officer decides the rest, and the record shows who did.
What has changed since September 2025, and what is due by 2028?
- 26 September 2025. Parliament adopts the TJPG and the AMLA revision.
- 26 February 2026. FinCEN proposes a section 311 measure against MBaer Merchant Bank AG.
- 4 June 2026. FINMA publishes Guidance 04/2026 on the risk analysis.
- 12 June 2026. The Federal Council sets 1 October 2026 for both acts, except the rules on cantonal notary offices.
- 29 September 2026. FINMA concludes its Julius Baer proceeding.
- 1 October 2026. The revised AMLA, the TJPG and fedpol's ordinance on the MROS data standard take effect, and the register opens.
Next, existing Swiss companies file by January to April 2027 depending on company type, or by 1 October 2028 when every owner is in the commercial register (TJPG art. 51); foreign entities file by April 2027 (art. 53). Discrepancy reports start on 1 April 2027 (art. 54(1)). No revised AMLO-FINMA had appeared in the official compilation by 4 November 2026.
Before April 2027, each onboarding team has two things to settle: which client entities get a register comparison, and who in the AML unit signs the 30 day discrepancy report.
What the PDF adds. The guide on this page is complete; the 16 page PDF is for the compliance file. It holds fourteen program checks for the run up to a supervisor's visit, an illustrative table of customer risk factors for Switzerland, and a suspicious activity decision record with room for the cases reviewed and not reported. The form beside this guide sends it.
