Legal basis

Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA)

The Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering in the Financial Sector (Anti-Money Laundering Act AMLA) of 10 October 1997 forms the legal basis of MROS and its work. Article 9 (Reporting Obligation of Financial Intermediaries) and Article 23 (Money Laundering Reporting Office) are two paragraphs of particular relevance.

Reporting obligation
Article 9 paragraph 1: A financial intermediary who knows or presumes, on the basis of founded suspicion, that assets involved in the business relationship are related to an offence under Article 305bis of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC), that they are proceeds of a crime, or that a criminal organisation has a right of disposal over them (Art. 260ter, para. 1 SCC) shall without delay notify the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS Article 23).

Ordinance on the Money Laundering Reporting Office

The Ordinance on the Money Laundering Reporting Office dated 25 August 2004 lists the tasks of the Reporting Office and its handling of sensitive financial disclosures.

Under Article 1 MLO, the Money Laundering Reporting Office has the following mandate:

  • The Reporting Office assists the law enforcement agencies in the fight against money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing.
  • It functions as the national reporting office in the fight against money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing.
  • It fosters awareness amongst financial intermediaries of money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing.
  • It publishes an anonymous annual statistical report on developments in the fight against money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing in Switzerland.

Legal bases

Last modification 30.05.2012

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