OARG rule tracking
Welcome :
- Contribute to the fight against money laundering within the meaning of article 305bis of the Swiss Criminal Code (CP) and against the financing of terrorism within the meaning of art. 260quinquies, al. 1, CP.
- Perform the functions devolved to Self-Regulatory Organizations (“SROs”) and provided for in the Federal Law of October 10, 1997 concerning the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism in the financial sector (Money Laundering Law , LBA).
Formed as a non-profit association, the OAR-G’s mission is to:
- Control the conformity of the activities of its members and the proper application of the law against money laundering.
- Keep our members up to date with the latest developments and news in the fight against money laundering.
- Provide adequate training to our members. Contribute to the development of AML legislation.
Rules of professional ethics
FINMA, in its ordinance 2009/1 entitled “Rules – Framework for asset management”, introduced from 2011, a procedure of compulsory annual control of the respect of the rules of professional ethics and a procedure of sanctions in the event of violation of said rules.
Also refer to the FINMA 2008/10 Circular “Self-regulatory standards recognized as minimum standards” available on the FINMA website, which contains the Professional Ethics Rules of the Swiss Group of Independent Management Consultants (GSCGI).
1) Money laundering and fight against money laundering
According to the Swiss penal code, money laundering designates any act « likely to hinder the identification of the origin, the discovery or the confiscation of heritage values which he [the author of the act] knew or should presume ‘they originated from a crime’ (art. 305bis CP). Such an act results from the will to hide or conceal the illegal or criminal origin of heritage values, the objective being to give the impression that these funds were acquired legally. Concealment is ensured through investment transactions of all kinds on the regular financial market. The money initially « dirty » is thus literally « laundered » to enter the legal economic circuit.
The fight against money laundering occupies a prominent place in the wider fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and, in recent years, the financing of terrorism. The innumerable data that must be gathered and kept to combat and suppress money laundering have proved useful in the investigation of terrorist activities, so that the initial rules of the fight against money laundering have been adapted. money to apply them to the fight against terrorist financing. On an international level, we have been talking for some time about “AML / CFT rules” (Anti-Money Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism).
As money laundering generally takes place in a country other than that where the initial offenses are committed, it is important to coordinate the fight against money laundering at the international level, in order to avoid any loophole in the laws and provisions of criminal prosecution governing this domain. Such coordination requires the standardization of national regulations. To this end, international standards have been adopted to serve as a basis for national regulations.
2) International standards
Over time, these are the 49 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering FATF (FATF) that have emerged as the foundation for international efforts to combat money laundering. and terrorist financing. They include 40 recommendations on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and 9 special recommendations on combating the financing of terrorism.
The FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, FATF) is an intergovernmental organization which aims to develop and promote strategies to combat money laundering and, since autumn 2001, against financing of terrorism. It brings together 32 countries, including Switzerland, and two international organizations (European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council). Among its members are the main financial centers of Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Although the FATF secretariat is located at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the FATF is not itself part of the OECD. Through the FATF and a dense network of regional FATF-type organizations – which assume for their members the same functions as the FATF vis-à-vis its own – some 150 countries around the world are committed to respecting the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force. The FATF and regional FATF-type bodies monitor compliance with these recommendations by their members and take steps to ensure compliance, if necessary.
The FATF’s 49 recommendations include the minimum requirements that a system must meet in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism if it is to be recognized internationally. They include provisions on the following areas: necessary offenses and coercive measures such as blocking and confiscation of assets; preventive measures, such as due diligence and the obligation to communicate business relationships or suspicious transactions, which financial intermediaries and other professional groups are required to comply with; regulation and supervision of financial service providers; the institutional organization of the system; the main aspects of international collaboration such as mutual legal assistance, administrative assistance and extradition, as well as the ratification and application of the relevant international instrument.
3) Swiss anti-money laundering system
By joining the FATF, Switzerland has undertaken to comply with the body’s 49 recommendations, so that the Swiss system for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism takes up these international standards.
The Swiss anti-money laundering system aims to preserve the integrity and reputation of the Swiss financial center and to ensure that the latter continues to play its full economic role (protection of the reputation and functioning of the economic system) , but not to protect consumers.
The prevention of money laundering is based on the federal law on combating money laundering in the financial sector (Money Laundering Law, AML) and the various implementing provisions which accompany it. These legislative texts are part of administrative law and govern the Swiss supervisory system intended to combat money laundering.
The criminal prosecution of money laundering and the financing of terrorism is mainly based on the following provisions of the Swiss Criminal Code (CC):
- art. 305bis CP: Money laundering
- art. 305ter CP: Lack of vigilance in financial transactions and right of communication
- art. 260ter CP: Criminal organization
- art. 260quinquies CP: Financing of terrorism
- art. 69 – art. 72: Confiscation
- art. 102 and art. 102a CP: Corporate criminal liability
National and international mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, as well as administrative assistance are other crucial instruments in the fight against money laundering.