: Money Laundering in Switzerland: Analysis and Some Observations

The financial sector in Switzerland has traditionally been associated with secrecy, which makes it prone to exploitation by money launderers. The aim of the Swiss government and of the financial sector at large has been to put in place a sound system which would prevent exploitation by money launderers while maintaining competitiveness. This objective to prevent exploitation has taken two forms: a penal regulatory framework and a self-regulatory framework. The former is comprised of legislator’s initiatives to revise the Swiss Penal Code by introducing the necessary provisions. The latter consists of the initiatives of the banking sector itself to implement Codes of Practice, which have the following three characteristics: they envisage the application of measures against non-complying banks, some of which are of a punitive nature; they cover aspects of money laundering operations which have not been expressly regulated in the criminal statutes; and, in certain instances, they operate as complementary regulations to the existing penal provisions... [more]