Overview
Swiss Federal Council Calls for Enhanced Due Diligence Requirements for Banks: Today, the Swiss Federal Council released a proposal urging the Swiss parliament to amend the current anti-money-laundering law by requiring banks and other financial intermediaries to comply with enhanced due diligence requirements when accepting assets. The purpose of the new due diligence requirements is to prevent the inflow of untaxed assets to Switzerland. Under the proposal, a financial intermediary would need to conduct a risk-based assessment when accepting assets to determine whether or not the assets have been duly taxed. The stepped-up due diligence requirements would apply to clients from countries that are not covered by automatic exchange of information agreements. The due diligence requirements would not apply to clients who are resident in Switzerland for tax purposes or U.S. citizens.