Swiss seek ways to bolster financial crime office

Cases of threats, money laundering are on the rise in Switzerland and beyond. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland announced on Friday that it would seek other sources of funding to support the anti-money laundering unit.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The Swiss government has tasked the Federal Department of Justice and Police with presenting concrete options by the end of 2026.

Under constant pressure, MROS (the Money Laundering Reporting Office) is in a critical situation, the Federal Council explained on Friday.

This assessment was echoed by the Swiss Federal Audit Office in a report published this week. It warned that insufficient resources were preventing MROS from fully fulfilling its legal mandate.

+ Corruption trackers flag increased global money laundering risks

Overwhelmed with information

This office receives reports of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing. These reports are sent to it by financial intermediaries, such as banks.

However, MROS is overwhelmed with this information, and if it is unable to process it, there is a risk that financial crimes will not be identified in time and will therefore be forwarded too late to the criminal prosecution authorities.

It should be noted that these are often international cases. Switzerland could therefore find itself in an awkward position if it is unable to cooperate effectively.

Fee-based assistance?

In its statement, the Federal Council indicated that the Confederation is facing a tight budgetary situation, meaning that it cannot provide further support to MROS.

The government is therefore considering new financing models, such as the introduction of a fee system.

According to Tamedia newspapers, one option being considered would be to require banks and other financial institutions to contribute through taxes. It remains to be seen whether the Federal Council will pursue this option.

Translated from Frency by DeepL/ds

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at  [e-mail]