Information about the AMLA/ Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics

Legal Principles

As far as the official text of the federal legislation is concerned, it is not available in English. You may therefore consult them either in German, in French or in Italian.

• Federal Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering in the Financial Sector (Anti-Money Laundering Act, AMLA (unofficial translation)
• Ordinance of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Rest of the Financial Sector (FINMA Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance 3, AMLO-FINMA 3)
• Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA), [English translation is available at Swiss Funds Association]
• Collective Investment Schemes Ordinance, [English translation is available at Swiss Funds Association]
• Ordinance of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority on Collective Investment Schemes (FINMA Collective Investment Schemes Ordinance, CISO-FINMA)
  

AMLA Interpretation and implementation (> Link)

Bush Lists

Economic sanctions often include financial sanctions, such as the freezing of financial assets and/or of economic resources, the prohibition of transactions, and an obligation to notify seco of frozen assets and other resources. Financial intermediaries have the obligation to remain informed, at all times, of sanctions in force, and must implement the coercive measures and the obligation to notify.

Currently, sanctions exist regarding persons and organisations with ties to Usama Bin Laden, the Al-Qaida Group or the Taliban ; to Iraq, Yugoslavia, Liberia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan, Belarus, certain persons in connection with the assassination of Rafik Hariri, Lebanon, the democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as well as sanctions regarding Iran. However, the sanctions issued against Sierra Leone do not include financial sanctions.

Type 1 lists

Consequently, the MLCA considers the following obligations incumbent on all financial intermediaries:

• to inspect without delay if they maintain business relationships with persons or entities named in the lists, or if one of these persons is the beneficial owner of assets placed or deposited with them;
• to report such business relationships without delay to the MROS. In accordance with the AMLA prescriptions, customers in question must not be informed of the report and their assets must be frozen until the prosecuting authorities issue an injunction, but for a maximum period of five working days (Art. 10 AMLA / unofficial English translation).

Type 2 lists

Concerning type 2 lists, the MLCA considers the following obligations incumbent on all financial intermediaries:

• to inspect whether they maintain any business relationships with persons or entities names in the lists or if one of these persons is the beneficial owner of assets placed or deposited with them;
• to submit such business relationships to enhanced due diligence;
• to report such business relationships to the MROS, in the event where the overall assessment of the business relationships gives rise to a founded suspicion in the sense of Art. 9 AMLA. In accordance with the AMLA prescriptions, customers in question must not be informed of the report, and their assets must be frozen until the prosecuting authorities issue an injunction, but for a maximum period of five working days (Art. 10 AMLA).