The fight against money laundering ‐ the Swiss way

Examines the Swiss campaign against money laundering, especially: anti‐money laundering rules for non‐bank and non‐insurance financial institutions, the mix of direct and indirect supervision that has been enacted, and relevant new due diligence requirements, in particular those related to beneficial owner identification. Details how the self‐regulation organisations (SROs) operate; there are over 6,500 financial institutions in the non‐banking non‐insurance sector, and most of them have become members of one of the 12 SROs, the remainder being directly supervised by the Money Laundering Control Authority, and there is audit by private companies. Explains the due diligence process: identification of the counterparty, clarifying the background of unusual transactions, record‐keeping, suspicious transaction reporting, identification of the ultimate beneficial owner, and application of the new rules to all existing customers.