A commentary by Nathalie Kläy / Simon Zaugg
Edited by Damian K. Graf / Doris Hutzler
copy_citationcopy_citationArt. 31a Applicable provisions of the Federal Act of 7 October 1994 on Central Offices of the Federal Criminal Police
Unless this Act provides otherwise in relation to data processing and administrative assistance provided by the Reporting Office, the first and fourth sections of the Federal Act of 7 October 1994 on the Central Offices of the Federal Criminal Police apply by analogy.
I. Reference to the ZentG
1 Art. 31a AMLA was created in the course of the 2012 revision of the AMLA and entered into force on November 1, 2013. It refers to the first section (General Provisions) and fourth section (Processing of Personal Data) of the Federal Act on the Criminal Police Central Offices of the Confederation and Joint Police and Customs Cooperation Centers with Other States (ZentG). This name of the law, which has been in force since August 1, 2014, has not yet been adapted in the Money Laundering Act – it still refers to the Federal Act on the Central Offices of the Federal Criminal Police.
II. Purpose and significance of the standard
2 With Art. 31a AMLA, the legislator wanted to ensure that MROS, firstly, does not lose existing information gathering opportunities (reference to the first section of the ZentG) and, secondly, based on Art. 13 ZentG in conjunction with Art. 12 of the Federal Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering in the Financial Sector), MROS can forward the information it has to the Federal Criminal Police for in-depth analysis by means of spontaneous administrative assistance (reference to the fourth section of the ZentG).
3 Regarding MROS's national administrative assistance, the reasons stated in the dispatch on the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of June 27, 2012, regarding the gathering of information (active administrative assistance) and forwarding of information to the Federal Criminal Police (passive administrative assistance) no longer apply. In its current practice, the Swiss reporting office bases its cooperation with domestic authorities on Art. 29, para. 2–2ter AMLA. Since Article 31a AMLA gives precedence to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Article 31a AMLA is no longer relevant for MROS's national cooperation with other authorities. The reference to Section 4 of the ZENTG, which consists exclusively of Article 13 (forwarding of personal data), is no longer applicable.
4 According to the message on the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of June 27, 2012, the reference to the first section is necessary so that the Swiss reporting office does not lose existing information-gathering opportunities that arise from laws other than the Anti-Money Laundering Act, although these laws are not mentioned by name. This could refer to those laws that give MROS access to the databases it requires.
Bibliography
Beuret Arnaud, Kommentierung zu Art. 31a GwG, in: Kunz Peter V./Jutzi Thomas/Schären Simon (Hrsg.), Stämpflis Handkommentar, Geldwäschereigesetz (GwG), Bern 2017.
Materialienverzeichnis
Botschaft zur Änderung des Geldwäschereigesetzes vom 27.6.2012, BBI 2012 6941 ff., abrufbar unter https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/filestore/fedlex.data.admin.ch/eli/fga/2012/1031/de/pdf-a/fedlex-data-admin-ch-eli-fga-2012-1031-de-pdf-a.pdf, besucht am 1.8.2024.
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Onlinekommentar.ch, Commentary on Art. 31a AMLA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
