Aziz Rahman and Francesca Cassidy-Taylor assess Switzerland’s plans to tighten its approach to money laundering

With Switzerland announcing its intention to reform its money laundering regime, Aziz Rahman and Francesca Cassidy-Taylor examined the proposals.

In an article, which was published by FT Adviser, they outline Switzerland’s reputation for being a haven for ill-gotten gains and the thinking behind the proposed reforms.

In their piece, they detail how Switzerland aims to place responsibility for improving transparency and implementing controls onto the private sector, which will face new obligations to flag up risks and strengthen the scrutiny of legal structures. Francesca and Aziz also explain Swiss plans for a central register of the beneficial owners of companies and other legal bodies. 

They state that the proposals are a positive move for Switzerland. But they emphasise that the country has lagged behind the rest of Europe when it comes to recognising both the size of the problem posed by financial crime and the need to combat it.

Their piece concludes by saying that the Swiss proposals may be motivated more by the need to avoid becoming viewed as a pariah by other nations than by principles.

The full article can be here.