Switzerland plans mandatory reporting of organised crime

Federal employees are already required to report suspicious activity. Keystone Pool / Urs Flueeler

The federal government and the cantons are planning to introduce a mandatory reporting requirement for any indications of organised crime.

An employee at a land registry office who notices suspicious real estate purchases, or a food inspector who finds evidence of money laundering during an inspection at a bar: In the future, they may be required to inform law enforcement authorities if they encounter evidence of organised crime. This was confirmed by Eva Wildi-Cortés, director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), on Swiss public television, SRF.

The reporting requirement would apply to all cantonal and municipal employees. The cantons themselves proposed this as part of a consultation process that has just concluded, says Wildi-Cortés.

Employees of land registry offices, food inspectors, and labor market inspectors are very close to the action. “They have insight into business operations. They notice irregularities that they can report. We rely on that,” said the Fedpol director.

Originally, the federal government had planned only a right to report. Government employees would thus have been free to decide whether or not to file a report – but if they did report something, they would not have been liable to prosecution.

Preventing infiltration

Fedpol hopes that, thanks to reports from municipalities and cantons, the federal government and the cantons will be better able to uncover the covert activities of drug rings, human trafficking gangs, or cybercriminals. The goal is to prevent the infiltration of the economy and society.

The federal government and the cantons intend to finalise the new reporting requirement by the end of the year as part of a national action plan to combat organised crime. The cantons themselves will then be responsible for implementing it.

Some cantons already have a mandatory reporting requirement in place, while others only grant government employees the right to report. In still other cantons, employees currently have no leeway. Under certain circumstances, they may even face criminal charges if they breach official secrecy by reporting their observations.

Federal employees are already subject to a reporting requirement.

Fedpol exposure

For years, Fedpol has been warning that criminal groups are infiltrating the economy, society, and even government agencies. It provided proof of this itself at the end of April, when a Fedpol officer was exposed.

He is alleged to have sold investigative information to the drug mafia. Director Wildi-Cortés says she did not know the Fedpol Federal Security Service employee personally. Her federal agency has over 1,000 employees.

Wildi-Cortés emphasises that her staff uncovered the mole on their own. Following the arrest, they checked whether all regulations – for example, regarding access rights to police data – had been followed: “At first glance, no mistakes were made.”

However, a more in-depth analysis is currently underway. It is possible that further measures will be taken, such as stricter screening procedures for new hires.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.