Swiss govt to trace company possession in bid to curb cash laundering By Reuters

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss authorities plans to create a central registry to trace who truly owns authorized entities in a transfer to combat money-laundering by way of shell firms, it stated on Wednesday.

The cupboard requested the finance ministry to draft particular proposals by mid-2023 that might enhance transparency by making it simpler to determine company house owners.

The transfer goals “to strengthen the prevention and prosecution of economic crime and thus the integrity and status of (Switzerland as a) monetary centre and enterprise location”, it stated in a press release.

Switzerland, whose banks make it the world’s greatest supervisor of offshore wealth, has lengthy sought to combat its previous picture as a spot for criminals to stash ill-gotten beneficial properties. It routinely exchanges checking account data with over 100 international locations.

Nevertheless it has confronted worldwide stress to shed extra mild onto the shadowy world of company possession, the place many firms cloak the id of the actual beneficiaries.

The purpose was to create a central register for figuring out house owners and updating details about precise beneficiaries.

“The register needs to be accessible to related authorities, however to not the general public. The purpose is to discover a resolution that’s as efficient and environment friendly as doable,” it stated in a press release.

It requested the finance ministry to additionally take into account steps to tighten anti-money-laundering guidelines, for instance by widening their scope to incorporate the authorized professions, it stated.

Parliament has previously rejected the thought of subjecting attorneys and monetary advisers to the identical guidelines that banks face on reporting suspicious transactions.