Suspicious activity reports reach record
The Federal Police Office recorded a sharp increase in the number of suspected money laundering cases in 2007.
The office said on Monday that after a three-year slump, the Money Laundering Reporting Office received a total of 795 suspicious activity reports last year, a 28.4 per cent increase compared with 2006.
Fedpol said the rise was mainly the result of a 37 per cent increase in reports received from the banking sector, particularly those relating to investment fraud.
It added that 2007 was a good year for financial activities and the stock market, “enabling scam artists to dupe trusting investors with unrealistic offers of quick and easy gains”.
It added that the total asset value of incoming reports increased by nearly 13 per cent to about SFr921 million ($927.9 million), up from SFr816 million in 2006.
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