The Swiss government intends to extend the obligations of the law on money laundering to lawyers, notaries and other financial advisers, announced Saturday the Minister of Finance. The parliament had exempted them two years ago during a grooming of the legislation on money laundering, a subject of importance in the Alpine country where the sector of finance and financial advice weighs heavily.
The Finance Department has been working on a central register project since October to identify the beneficial owners of legal persons, Karin Keller-Sutter said in an interview with the Tamedia press group. It will also concern lawyers, notaries and other financial advisers.
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“We must not rush headlong. It is useless if the parliament removes it again. But the Federal Council is of the opinion that it is necessarysaid Keller-Sutter, who assumed his new role in the Federal Council in 2023 after leading the Ministry of Justice.
According to the Minister,money laundering is a risk to the reputation of the financial centre. We have every interest in reducing the vulnerable zone as much as possible“.
The new law on money laundering came into force at the beginning of 2023. The revision included the reporting of suspicions of money laundering and measures for financial intermediaries. However, Parliament had refused to subject lawyers, notaries and other advisers to the new rules.
The exemption granted to financial advisers by elected officials had been the subject of criticism from organizations or associations that fight against financial corruption.
The revision of the law on money laundering was in particular at the initiative of the Federal Council to take into account the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international organization responsible for the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.