Collection

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[...]

In a ruling dated September 24, 2025, the Federal Court reiterated that the offense of money laundering requires intent on the part of the perpetrator, at least in the form of eventual intent, and that a single violation of anti-money laundering rules, even a significant one, does not in itself allow such intent to be inferred (6B_1180/2023). The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland accused a bank employee of opening bank accounts using false customer data and, between 2003[...]