A-31-01 LBA

Convictions for failure to exercise due diligence in financial transactions under Art. 305ter of the Swiss Criminal Code are rare; Federal Supreme Court rulings on the matter are even rarer. The landmark decision of April 13, 2026, addresses two points: 1) the scope of administrative and private anti-money laundering standards in determining the level of due diligence required by the circumstances when identifying the beneficial owner; 2) the question of whether the incorrect identification of the beneficial owner is an[...]

Beyond the ongoing standoff between UBS and the Federal Council, particularly regarding the tightening of capital requirements, UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse has also had implications under criminal law. In an order dated 8 April 2026 (SK.2025.57), the Criminal Division of the Federal Criminal Court examined the consequences, in terms of corporate criminal liability, of a merger by absorption (Art. 3 para. 1 let. a FusG) on the acquiring company. It ordered the proceedings against UBS to be discontinued, finding[...]

Whilst we have repeatedly highlighted the lack of detail in the summaries of the Banking Supervision Commission’s (hereinafter: the Commission) ‘leading cases’, it must be acknowledged that the latest publication raises a number of interesting and rarely addressed issues. Among these, we note first and foremost a clarification regarding the scope of application of the Bank Due Diligence Convention (hereinafter: the BDC or the Convention) in relation to credit card transactions. Recalling first of all that the CDB 20 applies[...]

In a judgment intended for publication, the Federal Court ruled on the method applicable for separating bank assets derived from a criminal offence from legal bank assets deposited in the same account (7B_65/2023 of 5 December 2025). In 2010, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (‘OAG’) opened criminal proceedings against persons unknown on suspicion of money laundering of assets derived from crimes committed in Russia (Art. 305bis(1) and (2) of the Swiss Criminal Code). In essence, the Russian[...]