MROS — Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland

The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) is Switzerland's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), established pursuant to Art. 23 ff. of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG/AMLA, Chapter 5), and attached to the Federal Office of Police (fedpol). It serves as the link between financial intermediaries and law enforcement in combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

• Receipt of suspicious activity reports: Reports from financial intermediaries under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG/AMLA)
• Analysis: Financial intelligence gathering and evaluation of reports
• Forwarding: Transmission to law enforcement upon sufficient suspicion
• International cooperation: Member of the Egmont Group (global FIU network)
• Statistics and reports: Annual activity reports on filings and trends

MROS was established in 1998 pursuant to Art. 23 ff. GwG/AMLA (Chapter 5) simultaneously with the entry into force of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG/AMLA) and joined the Egmont Group the same year. As an operational FIU, it was tasked with centrally analyzing suspicious activity reports from financial intermediaries and forwarding them to cantonal or federal law enforcement authorities.

FATF evaluations in 2005 and 2016 led to recommendations to strengthen reporting culture and expand MROS resources. On 1 January 2020, the new reporting platform goAML was introduced, replacing the previous online reporting solution. Further GwG/AMLA amendments were made as part of the FINIG accompanying legislation (2020), which in particular reorganized the supervision of independent asset managers and trustees.

Entities obligated to report to MROS include all financial intermediaries subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG/AMLA), upon suspicion of money laundering or terrorism financing:

• Banks and securities dealers
• Insurance companies (for life insurance with savings component)
• Independent asset managers and trustees
• Casinos and gaming establishments
• Money and value transfer service providers
• Traders for cash payments over CHF 100,000

• Obligation to submit a suspicious activity report upon reasonable suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing
• Asset freeze: automatically 5 business days, extendable by MROS for up to 20 additional business days (Art. 10 GwG/AMLA)
• Confidentiality obligation vis-à-vis the client (no tipping-off)
• Use of the secure online reporting portal (goAML)
• Receipt of an acknowledgment and potential extension notice from MROS

"MROS — Money Laundering Reporting Office" was classified under theme "Jurisdiktion". Correct is "AML-KYC". National laws and authorities are classified by subject matter, not as Jurisdiction. Country profiles are classified as Jurisdiction.

8 corrections:
- MROS Egmont Group membership since 1998, not 2012
- GwG 2021 revision: CHF 15,000 cash threshold not yet in force
- MROS 2023 SAR count 'over 8,000' is incorrect
- Egmont Group membership year wrong: 2012 instead of 1998
- GwG revision 2021: Lowering of cash threshold to CHF 15,000 was rejected by Parliament
- GwG revision 2021 in key_dates and last_amended is misleading
- goAML introduction was January 2020, not 2019
- Grammar error: 'neues Meldeplattform' should be 'neue Meldeplattform'
3 clarifications.
2 notes.