Key facts
- Outdated Swiss regulations allow defendants to delay white-collar crime cases, leading to statutes of limitations expiring.
- A money-laundering case against a former Credit Suisse compliance chief was dropped due to exceeding the statute of limitations.
- A trial against Gulnara Karimova was discontinued after hitting a similar legal hurdle.
- Attorney General Stefan Blaettler stated that 90% of sealing requests by defendants are found to be without merit after long delays.
- The Swiss government is considering enhanced cooperation with the EU to speed up digital evidence seizure.
- Lawmakers have reportedly weakened proposals aimed at preventing financial crime, citing competitiveness concerns.
Switzerland's top financial crime prosecutor is struggling against outdated laws that allow defendants to prolong investigations, sometimes for years, leading to cases being dropped. Attorney General Stefan Blaettler stated that pre-digital-era regulations permit defendants to seal evidence and challenge information sharing with foreign authorities, significantly delaying access to crucial data while statutes of limitations tick down.
This issue was highlighted when a case against a former Credit Suisse compliance chief was dismissed last month due to exceeding the statute of limitations. Similarly, a trial against Gulnara Karimova, accused of channeling hundreds of millions of dollars into Swiss accounts, was discontinued in April. Blaettler noted that in approximately 90% of cases involving sealing requests, prosecutors are eventually found to be correct after considerable delays, a situation he deems "untenable."
The Swiss government is reportedly evaluating closer cooperation with the European Union to expedite the seizure of digital evidence, a move that could address the timing problem. However, Swiss lawmakers have been criticized for watering down recent proposals to combat financial crime, with an advocacy group, Public Eye, stating that a right-of-centre parliamentary majority is actively resisting measures to strengthen tools against white-collar crime, thereby slowing down necessary reforms.
Despite these challenges, Switzerland has made progress in money-laundering prosecutions, partly due to an increase in suspicious activity reports and enhanced international cooperation. Last year, Switzerland established a trilateral anti-corruption taskforce with Britain and France. Blaettler indicated that more cases are in the pipeline, though he could not predict the duration of future proceedings.