Federal Council brings new anti-money laundering rules into force
Bern, 12.06.2026 — During its meeting on 12 June 2026, the Federal Council decided on the entry into force of several pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The revised Anti-Money Laundering Act and the new Act on the Transparency of Legal Persons and the Identification of Beneficial Owners will enter into force on 1 October 2026.
Parliament approved the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act and the new Act on the Transparency of Legal Persons and the Identification of Beneficial Owners on 26 September 2025. These two acts close gaps in the Swiss system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. They establish a transparency register for the beneficial owners of legal entities, and introduce due diligence requirements for certain high risk advisory activities. Both acts, along with their associated ordinances, will enter into force on 1 October 2026, except for the provisions relating to state notaries (Amtsnotare), the implementation of which has been postponed to allow the cantons to adapt their legislation.
The Federal Council has set the date of entry into force of the Anti-Money Laundering Act at 1 October 2026 to give the stakeholders sufficient time for implementation, in line with the requests received during the consultation phase. This date marks the start of the transition periods for registering the affected legal entities in the transparency register. This timing will enable the Financial Action Task Force to assess the effectiveness of the new measures during its next evaluation of Switzerland, scheduled for 2027-2028.
In the consultation on the Ordinance regarding the Transparency of Legal Persons and the Identification of Beneficial Owners, there were widespread requests for making the new tasks of the cantonal commercial registers simpler and more cost-effective. The Federal Council has accommodated these concerns as far as possible. In addition, regarding the revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, many respondents requested a proportionate regulation of the newly covered activity. In response to this concern, thresholds have been introduced to define more clearly what constitutes professional advisory activity.
Further information on the transparency register can be found at: www.transpareg.admin.ch.
Documentation (in German)
Contact/queries:
On the legislative texts:
Communications, State Secretariat for International Finance SIF
Tel. +41 58 462 46 16, info@sif.admin.ch
On the transparency register:
Information Service, Federal Office of Justice (FOJ)
Tel. +41 58 462 48 48, medien@bj.admin.ch