Switzerland has opened consultations on a draft bill to toughen anti-money laundering laws to reinforce what it calls the “integrity and competitiveness” of the country as an investment hub.
(Bloomberg) — Switzerland has opened consultations on a draft bill to toughen anti-money laundering laws to reinforce what it calls the “integrity and competitiveness” of the country as an investment hub.
The discussions will run until Nov. 29, with recommendations scheduled for next year, the governing Swiss Federal Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Increased transparency should allow the prosecution authorities to identify who is really behind a legal structure with greater speed and certainty,” the council said.
The main features of the proposed bill are:
- the introduction of a federal register to which companies and other legal entities would have to add the names of their beneficial owners. The private registry would be managed by the federal police and be regularly audited by the federal finance department.
- anti-money laundering rules would apply to consulting activities, especially legal advice
- measures to prevent sanctions under embargo legislation being “breached or circumvented.”
- the threshold for cash payments in precious metal trading would be cut from 100,000 Swiss francs ($114,00) to 15,000 francs.
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