AMLA REVISION · COMPLIANCE

AMLA revision 2026: extension to fiduciary advisory and FATF Recommendation 16

The Federal Council adopted the AMLA revision in 2024. Extension to advisory fiduciary work, new SRO duties, FATF Recommendation 16 – entry into force H2 2026.

Researched & fact-checked by: DuneDive LLC · As of: 2026-05

What does the 2026 AMLA revision change?

The Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Anti-Money Laundering Act, AMLA, SR 955.0) has been in force since 1998 and has been revised several times. The current revision was adopted by the Federal Council on 29 November 2024 and, after the consultation phase, submitted to parliament for deliberation on 12 March 2025. Parliamentary deliberation is advanced as of May 2026; entry into force is currently planned for the second half of 2026 – depending on the final vote.

The revision pursues three thrusts. First: implementing the revised FATF Recommendation 16 (anti-money laundering in the advisory sector), on which Switzerland was admonished in the 2024 FATF country review. Second: introduction of a federal transparency register for beneficial owners (UBO register), to be hosted at the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Third: extension of the personal scope to certain advisory activities – the politically most contested point.

For fiduciary and law firms, the most practical change lies in point three. To date the AMLA primarily covered financial intermediaries in the narrow sense (banks, asset managers, casino operators, FINMA-supervised persons). The revision now also catches "advisors" – persons who professionally assist in the formation, management or dissolution of companies, in the purchase or sale of real estate, or in the management of assets, provided they are not primarily acting as legal counsel.

Why the revision hits fiduciary offices directly

Four consequences can be named without detailed legal analysis.

First: SRO membership for new categories. A fiduciary office that offers advisory brokerage services – for instance arranging asset structures, helping with holding incorporations, advising on trusts or off-market real-estate deals – must join a self-regulatory organisation (SRO). Established SROs (PolyReg, SRO-Treuhand|Suisse, OAR-G) expect member growth of 15-30% according to their consultation submissions.

Second: formal risk analysis. What could previously run informally must now be documented. Per business relationship: client risk (industry, origin, political exposure), product risk (complexity, cash share, third-country nexus), channel risk (online/offline, sub-intermediaries). Elevated risks trigger enhanced due diligence – senior-management approval, annual update, documented plausibility check of the source of funds.

Third: MROS reporting channels. The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) expects new channels via the GoAML system. Suspicion must be reported "without delay" (Art. 9 AMLA) – under MROS practice 2025 that means within 24 hours of forming the suspicion. The threshold "reasonable suspicion" was lowered in 2023 and stays so in the revision.

Fourth: UBO transparency register. The planned register captures beneficial owners of Swiss companies from a threshold of 25% participation or control. Fiduciary offices with mandates in holding or trust structures must report the relationships – the company itself is the debtor of the report, but fiduciaries will in practice carry out the filing.

Which duties, specifically

The AMLA architecture has four core duties, which the revision sharpens but does not renew.

Identifying the counterparty (Art. 3 AMLA). When starting a business relationship, the counterparty must be recorded with name, address, date of birth (natural person) or company name and registered seat (legal person), evidenced by a probative document. For legal persons additionally a commercial register extract and signing authority. For "remote business" (online onboarding) tighter requirements apply – Art. 5 of the FINMA Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance or SRO regulation.

Identifying the beneficial owner (Art. 4 AMLA). Who economically stands behind the counterparty. For legal persons this is the natural person with control (>25% direct or indirect), or, failing that, the senior management body. For trusts and foundations: settlor, trustee, protector, beneficiaries – all to be identified.

Recording the purpose and nature of the business relationship (Art. 6 AMLA). Client profile with expected transaction volume, source of funds, geographic reach. Deviations trigger query and reporting duties.

Documentation and retention (Art. 7 AMLA). All identification and clarification evidence for at least 10 years after the end of the business relationship. Electronic retention must be GeBüV-compliant (Ordinance on the keeping and retention of business records, SR 221.431).

The 2026 revision adds: extended due-diligence standardisation for advisory clients (in line with FATF Rec. 16: "wire transfer rule" – information on payer and payee for cross-border client flows), and explicit codification of simplified due diligence for low-risk relationships.

AMLA compliance roadmap for 2026

01Business model inventory: which activities does the office provide – advice, brokerage, administration? Which fall under the revision?
02SRO selection: PolyReg, SRO-Treuhand|Suisse, OAR-G or others. Compare regulations and audit intervals.
03Client inventory: categorise existing mandates (low/medium/high), identify KYC gaps.
04Risk-analysis template: map client, product and channel risk in a repeatable methodology.
05Set up or revise the KYC onboarding process: identification documents, UBO clarification, PEP screening.
06Transaction monitoring: define thresholds, document anomaly rules, escalation path.
07Apply for and test the MROS GoAML account – before the first suspicion case occurs.
08Annual staff training, documented. Larger offices appoint a dedicated money-laundering officer.

Who is affected

Under current law (as of May 2026) the AMLA captures without further analysis: banks (Art. 2 para. 2 lit. a), FINMA-licensed asset managers, securities firms, fund managers, insurance companies offering life or investment products, casinos, and registered intermediaries in the consumer-credit area. Beyond that, "financial intermediaries within the meaning of Art. 2 para. 3" – those who professionally accept, hold or invest third-party assets – typical Swiss fiduciary cases: asset management without licence, trust trustees, professional fiduciary intermediaries.

The 2026 revision adds: advisors assisting in the formation, management, dissolution or structuring of companies, trusts or foundations (in line with FATF Rec. 22); real-estate brokers in purchase transactions above CHF 100,000 (confirmed); precious-metal and gemstone traders from CHF 100,000 in cash (confirmed, threshold possibly lower).

The "qualified attorney-at-law" remains excluded to the extent they provide classical legal counsel (representation in ongoing or foreseeable proceedings) – attorney-client privilege under Art. 321 SCC has priority. The boundary between "legal counsel" and "business counsel" is legally sensitive and was intensively debated during the consultation.

When the AMLA (still) does not apply

Three constellations remain outside. First: purely technical assistance without own decision-making authority – e.g. the accounting of an SME that does not move third-party assets. Second: one-off, non-recurring advice without mandate character. Third: provision of services exclusively to FINMA-supervised persons (B2B sub-outsourcing) where the principal carries the duties itself.

Caution in two grey areas. (a) "Helping family members" – anyone managing assets for relatives or acquaintances for a fee is, depending on recurrence and volume, acting professionally (Art. 7 AML Ordinance: professional activity from approx. CHF 50,000 gross annual income or > 20 counterparties). (b) Crypto intermediation: anyone who regularly converts crypto-to-fiat or fiat-to-crypto for third parties is a financial intermediary – this has applied since the 2020 revision and was not relaxed in 2026.

This is not legal advice. The boundary between "legal counsel attorney" and "AMLA-bound advisor" is one of the hardest questions of the revision and should be clarified for every office individually with a Swiss law firm specialised in financial-market law, ideally before SRO membership.

Trade-offs

STRENGTHS

Clearer rules reduce uncertainty for professional fiduciary offices
Uniform FATF conformity facilitates international mandates
UBO register reduces research effort for KYC on Swiss companies
Competitive leveling – informal "AMLA avoidance" becomes harder

WEAKNESSES

Significant initial investment for advisory fiduciaries not previously caught
Boundary attorney vs advisor remains contested – legal uncertainty
MROS reporting duties can strain the client relationship
Entry-into-force date not yet definitive – planning hampered
Double reporting where FINMA supervision runs in parallel (rare but possible)

FAQ

How long does SRO membership take?

Between 6 and 12 weeks, provided documents are complete. Required: business model description, organisational measures (internal directive, money-laundering officer if needed), criminal record extract for officers, commercial register extract. Joining fee per SRO CHF 1,500-5,000, annual fee CHF 800-3,000. Audit interval typically every 12-24 months.

What does AMLA compliance cost for a 3-person fiduciary office?

One-off setup CHF 6,000-12,000 (SRO membership, internal directive, training, KYC tool licence). Recurring CHF 4,000-8,000/year (SRO fee, annual training, PEP screening subscription, SRO audit pro rata). AI-supported KYC tools can reduce onboarding time from 3-4 hours to 30-45 minutes – see related topic ai-gwg-kyc-screening.

When do violations become time-barred?

Violation of the reporting duty under Art. 9 AMLA (offence): 7-year limitation (Art. 97 SCC). Violation of due diligence as misdemeanour: 3 years. Fines reach up to CHF 500,000 for negligent failure to report, up to CHF 1 m for wilful violation of identification duty (Art. 37, 38 AMLA). Disciplinary measures by the SRO are separate and may mean exclusion – de facto a professional ban for AMLA activity.

Can AI help with AMLA compliance?

Yes, in three places with measurable ROI: (a) document OCR and data extraction at KYC onboarding, (b) PEP and sanctions screening against 50+ lists instead of manually, (c) transaction-anomaly detection. Important: AI may "suggest" suspicion but not "decide" – the reporting decision is taken by a natural person, documented per Art. 21 nFADP (see ndsg-revfadp-ki).

Sources

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