Swiss FINMA marks the Beginning of Consultations on the Partial Revision of AMLO-FINMA

FINMA has announced that it will conduct a consultation concerning the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance changes. The consultation will run until 10 May 2022 and is expected to cover minor adjustments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. This comes after the Federal Council and the Swiss Parliament published their updates on the AMLO regulation.

The revised Anti-Money Laundering Act includes a detailed description of the beneficial owner's identity. As a result, FINMA does not need to provide more guidance on establishing the beneficial owner's identity Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance at the level. FINMA's ordinance intends to regulate financial intermediaries to update client data on an internal directive.

The consultation seeks to check into the virtual currency threshold introduced in 2021. According to FINMA-AMLO, the capped CHF 1000 threshold for linked transactions carried out in a day creates more financial risks and will no longer be in use. Instead, it proposes a thorough check of the linked transactions from one day to thirty days.

The Federal Council has amended the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance to implement provisions on reporting in the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) apply to financial intermediaries in all sectors. This also applies to Foreign Politically Exposed Persons (FINMA). Money laundering risks must be taken into account in connection with large and complex transactions.

Money laundering is a global challenge that Switzerland isn’t taking it lightly. Despite major changes being done by the AMLO and the parliament, the Swiss FINMA has started consultations on the partial revision of AMLO-FINMA and will proceed up to 10 May 2022

Sources

https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2022/03/20220308-mm-anhoerung-gwv-finma/