Legisladores suizos desafían al gobierno en su impulso por una ley más estricta contra el lavado de dinero
Suiza enfrenta una batalla regulatoria interna mientras los legisladores bloquean medidas más duras contra el lavado de capitales.
El gobierno busca ampliar los requisitos de due diligence para los intermediarios financieros, pero el parlamento resiste citando preocupaciones sobre la competitividad del sector.
Los críticos argumentan que la postura legislativa podría debilitar el estatus de Suiza como centro financiero limpio—justo cuando otras jurisdicciones endurecen sus controles.
Porque en las finanzas tradicionales, a veces parece que 'cumplir' es solo otra palabra para 'esperar a que se calmen las aguas'.
Swiss AML regulation seeks transparency on countries’ shell companies
The Swiss government said at the time that legislators would focus more on regulatory relief for Swiss companies and push back on new rules that incur high business costs. The government said in August that it wants to decisively press ahead with its economic policy agenda and focus on reducing the regulatory burden on companies.
Lawmakers have based the current retaliation on the government’s anti-money laundering drive on competitive grounds, similar to what they used in the debate over proposed new capital rules for Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS. The AML legislation seeks to implement requirements by the Financial Action Task Force, calling for nations to come clean on shell companies.
Member of the Swiss People’s Party Barbara Steinemann argued that Switzerland tends to implement rules whenever there is foreign pressure on financial transparency. She believes the initiative drives up bureaucracy and erodes competitiveness, even as other financial centers hold back.
“This is about a war between financial centers and economic interests. The Americans and other European countries would like to take over our business.”
-Barbara Steinemann, Member of the National Council of Switzerland.
The country established the OECD’s minimum 15% tax rate for large companies last year and final Basel III banking standards this year. Lawmakers are also against the government’s tighter legislation that prevents rogue lawyers, saying that the laws are unnecessary and burdensome.
Swiss politician Simone Giannini argued that the drive for transparency must not lead to overregulation. The Swiss People’s Party and the centrist party, The Center, also pushed back against a similar anti-money laundering bill five years ago.
In June, the Swiss government also excluded non-profit groups, including charities, from a planned transparency register to reveal beneficial owners.
Lawmakers also excluded trust arrangements from the register schemes. Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said trust arrangements are prone to crime and can be used to conceal a client’s identity.
Swiss parliament reduces due diligence obligations for advisors
The parliament also reduced due diligence obligations for advisors, exempting some lawyers from implementing such safeguards. The Swiss finance minister stated that the amendments have diluted the range of those lawyers covered by the obligations.
The Boston Consulting Group revealed that all other major financial centers grew more rapidly in 2024 in percentage terms compared to Switzerland. According to the report, Singapore led with nearly 12% growth in cross-border wealth. The company also forecasts that Hong Kong will become the world’s leading booking centre for cross-border wealth in 2025.
British non-profit firm Tax Justice Network ranks Switzerland second after the U.S. on a list of the world’s top financial secrecy enablers. The head of the Swiss financial crime unit, Anton Broennimann, said the country must prevent itself from becoming attractive to criminals due to competitive considerations. He also welcomes stricter rules for high-risk activities in the financial advisory sector, despite other countries not having any obligations in that sector.
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