Switzerland: anti-money laundering policies achieved good results, FATF said

Switzerland has boosted anti-money laundering measures over the last decade but could still do more to prevent financial crime, the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said on Wednesday, in his  report.

Once a haven for untaxed and illicit assets, the small but influential finance hub has been stung into action by a global push to combat money laundering and financial crime. That has led to considerable improvement in its efforts since 2005, the global task force said.

“Since its previous FATF assessment in 2005, Switzerland has strengthened its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing) regime,” the Paris-based intergovernmental body wrote in the statement.
“These efforts rest on a clear political will to promote the integrity of its financial centre. In line with this, legal reforms have taken place in order to meet the requirements of the FATF recommendation, and to address the significant money laundering risks that Switzerland faces.”

Legal reforms and assistive investigations had strengthened the country's efforts and helped return considerable sums in a number of international grand corruption cases.

Switzerland, a member of FATF since 1990, demonstrates a strong commitment to mutual legal assistance, the assessors added. “It should continue to pursue its efforts on all other forms of international cooperation, including on the supervision of financial groups, given the key role of the Swiss financial centre.”

According to report, "Swiss authorities have recently adopted measures to address some of these concerns.  These developments are welcome and Swiss authorities are encouraged to ensure an effective implementation of these new legal provisions".

Banks too seldom reported suspicious transactions, the FATF said, and most such reports occurred only after information from external sources had come to light.