Federal Council wishes to increase transparency of legal entities
During its meeting on 12 October 2022, the Federal Council instructed the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) to draft a bill on increased transparency and easier identification of the beneficial owners of legal entities by the second quarter of 2023. In this way, it wishes to strengthen prevention and prosecution in the area of financial crime, and in turn the integrity and reputation of Switzerland as a financial centre and business location.
In December 2021, in a status report to the Council of States Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee (EATC-S), the Federal Council observed that there was room for improvement in the measures taken to date with regard to the transparency and identification of the beneficial owners of legal entities. The Federal Council has now instructed the FDF, in collaboration with the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), to draft a bill by the end of June 2023 at the latest, aimed at increasing transparency and simplifying the identification of the beneficial owners of legal entities. In particular, the bill should introduce a central register for identifying beneficial owners and new obligations are regards the risk-based updating of information on effective ownership. The register will be accessible to the relevant authorities but not publicly available. The aim is to achieve a solution which is as effective and efficient as possible.
More information: https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-90662.html