Swiss anti-money laundering office overwhelmed by surge in reports

Armed with a team of 55, the office can no longer handle the volume of money-laundering reports. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland’s Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) is reaching its limits as the number of suspicious activity reports rises sharply.

According to its chief Anton Brönnimann, the office expects a 40% increase this year, up from 15,000 cases in 2024 to about 21,000 in 2025. “We’ve seen exponential growth for ten years,” he told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

Brönnimann attributes the surge to greater awareness in the financial sector, stronger pressure from regulators and prosecutors, and several money-laundering scandals that have led to convictions in Switzerland. “Banks want to avoid any risk,” he said.

Technology has also made reporting easier: “Today, banks use robots and automated tools to detect irregularities and can file reports at the push of a button. They’d rather report one case too many than one too few.”

But the small team of around 55 employees can no longer handle the volume. “We’ve reached our personnel limits,” Brönnimann said. The office has adopted a risk-based approach, focusing mainly on terrorism financing, organised crime, and serious financial offences.

This means some cases are no longer investigated as thoroughly, while others may be missed. “The risk of overlooking money-laundering cases is rising,” he warned. To do the job properly, staff numbers would need to double to about 110.

The office hopes that automation and artificial intelligence will help relieve the pressure. “We’re trying to automate as much as possible and hope AI will bring progress,” said Brönnimann. But the number of reports is increasing so fast that digital tools can’t keep up.

“The growth is exponential,” he said. “Without more people, the risk of missing important cases continues to grow.”

Translated and adapted from German by DeepL/ds

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