SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Jürg Frick, Luca Dal Molin, Philippe Gobet and Carla Bertossa, Homburger
a full or partial refund or a relief at source of foreign withholding tax. SICAFs are taxed like a corporation and do therefore generally qualify for benefits under the double tax treaties of Switzerland. 4.10 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)/Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Compliance Regime FATCA The intergovernmental agreement between Switzer - land and the USA on co-operation to simplify the implementation of FATCA (the “FATCA Agreement”) is a Model 2 IGA. The implementing laws of Switzerland include the Federal Act on the Implementation of the FATCA Agreement as well as the assessments pub - lished by the Swiss FATCA Qualification Board, which deals with questions that arise in connection with the interpretation of the FATCA Agreement. CRS Switzerland has concluded a multilateral agreement with the EU on the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters (the AEOI Agreement), which applies to all EU member states. Further, Switzerland has concluded a multilateral competent authority agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information (MCAA), and bilateral AEOI agreements with a number of other countries, most of them on the basis of the MCAA. The imple - menting laws of Switzerland include the Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Informa - tion in Tax Matters, as well as the guideline “Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Information of Financial Accounts – Common Standard of 8 January 2021” and the Q&A published by the Swiss AEOI Qualifica - tion Board. 4.11 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) Regime Switzerland’s AML and KYC regime is primarily based on the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). The AMLA is supplemented by the Anti-Money Laundering Ordi - nance (AMLO) and the FINMA Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (FINMA-AMLO). These regulations provide, inter alia, for the following obligations of financial inter - mediaries, including AIFs and their managers:
• Due Diligence: Financial intermediaries must verify the identity of their customers and identify the ben - eficial owner. Additional due diligence and moni - toring obligations are triggered for high-risk cus - tomers (such as politically exposed persons) and high-risk transactions or business relationships. • Duty to Report: If money laundering is suspected, the financial intermediary must immediately file a report with the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland. • Organisational Measures: Financial intermediaries must organise themselves properly and take the necessary measures to prevent money launder - ing, in particular by ensuring that their staff receive adequate training and that checks are carried out. They must also appoint one or more qualified persons to act as an internal anti-money launder - ing unit (see also 2.9 Rules Concerning Service Providers ). • Duty to Keep Records: Financial intermediaries must keep records of business relationships and transactions for at least ten years. Compliance with these obligations is supervised and enforced by FINMA. Investment companies that do not fall within the scope of the CISA (see 2.2 Regu- latory Regime for Funds ) must be affiliated with a self-regulatory organisation, which is responsible for supervision and enforcement in this case. In addition, Switzerland is committed to international co-operation in the fight against money laundering, in particular through active participation in the Financial Action Task Force. Furthermore, money laundering is a criminal offence under the Swiss Criminal Code and a breach of the reporting obligation is punishable by a fine under the AMLA. 4.12 Data Security and Privacy for Investors Managers and funds must comply with Swiss statu - tory requirements governing data protection and data security. These apply to managers and funds as they apply to other businesses processing personal data. There are no specific data protection rules applicable to managers and funds in respect of their dealings with investors. The DPA governs the processing of personal data of individuals. Data relating to legal enti -
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