Anti-money laundering duties for fiduciaries and professionals
Anyone who manages assets, structures companies or administers property on behalf of others operates in a sector particularly exposed to money-laundering risk. This is why Switzerland imposes precise anti-money laundering duties on fiduciaries (trust companies), asset managers and other professionals. Understanding when they apply and what they involve is no minor detail: the consequences of a breach are criminal. Let us look at the framework in practical terms.
The reference law: the AMLA
The pivot of the system is the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). Its purpose is to prevent the financial system from being used to launder the proceeds of crime or to finance terrorism. The underlying logic: anyone who comes into professional contact with someone else’s assets must know who they are dealing with and where the money comes from.
The AMLA applies to financial intermediaries. The definition is broad and goes beyond banks: it covers anyone who, on a professional basis, accepts or holds third-party assets or helps to invest or transfer them.
Who is involved among fiduciaries and professionals
Fiduciary and professional activity falls under the AMLA when it involves managing or transferring someone else’s assets. Typically included are:
- Asset management on behalf of clients.
- Acting as a trustee or administering asset structures.
- Payment services and the transfer of money or assets.
- Assistance in transactions that move third-party assets.
Note an important distinction: mere advice (legal, tax, accounting) that does not involve managing or moving someone else’s assets generally does not trigger AMLA duties. It is the actual handling of assets that makes the difference. This is why a professional may be subject to the AMLA for some activities and not for others.
How you become compliant
Anyone carrying out financial intermediation on a professional basis cannot operate “on their own”. They must be subject to supervision, typically by affiliating with a recognised self-regulatory organisation (SRO), which verifies compliance with the duties. Operating without this affiliation, where required, is in itself a serious breach.
The due diligence duties in practice
Once subject to supervision, the intermediary must comply with a series of operational duties.
1. Identifying the client
The identity of the contracting party must be established reliably and on a documented basis: who they are, with supporting documents. This is the first filter.
2. Establishing the beneficial owner
Knowing who signs is not enough. You must identify the natural person who is truly behind the transaction: the beneficial owner of the assets. This is where the structures used to conceal the origin of funds are dismantled.
3. Clarifications on higher-risk transactions
When a transaction appears unusual, or shows indications of elevated risk, the intermediary must dig deeper: origin of the funds, economic purpose, consistency with the client’s profile. This is not optional.
4. Documentation duty
Everything must be documented and retained, so that an auditor or the authority can reconstruct the checks carried out. In AML matters, what is not documented is equivalent to not done.
5. Reporting duty
This is the heart of the system. Where there is a well-founded suspicion that assets are linked to money laundering, to a crime or to a criminal organisation, the intermediary must report it to the reporting office (MROS). In such cases, duties of conduct also apply, such as freezing the assets within the prescribed time.
The consequences of breaches
The AML regime is not merely administrative. Breaching the duties, in particular the reporting duty, can entail criminal liability and significant financial penalties, as well as consequences for the authorisation to operate. For a fiduciary it is also, and above all, a reputational risk that can shut the business down.
A risk-based approach
The key is proportionality: the duties intensify according to the risk of the client and of the transaction. An ordinary relationship with a transparent local client requires less scrutiny than a complex structure with international links. Setting up internal procedures that classify risk and adjust controls is the way to be compliant without paralysing operations.
Our approach
At SIH ONE we know anti-money laundering duties at close hand because we operate in the fiduciary sector. We help professionals and structures understand when the AMLA applies to their activities, set up identification and clarification procedures proportionate to the risk, and correctly manage documentation and reporting duties. Activities subject to authorisation are handled through authorised partners.
Do you want to understand whether and how the AMLA applies to your activity? Let’s get clarity together.