AMLA Revision 2026: New Obligations for Advisers and Financial Intermediaries

Since 1 October 2026, the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) has applied in Switzerland. A key change is the extension of its scope to certain advisory activities. As a result, lawyers, notaries, fiduciaries and corporate service providers may now also be subject to the AMLA – depending on the specific activity – even if they do not accept or manage assets belonging to others.

What does the revision mean in practice, and what steps should affected businesses take now?

1. Coverage of advisers: The activity is decisive

Article 2 para. 3bis AMLA covers natural and legal persons who, on a professional basis, participate on behalf of third parties in financial transactions, including the raising of funds, in connection with certain specific legal transactions.

These include:

• The purchase and sale of real estate.

• The formation and establishment of non-operating legal entities with their registered office in Switzerland or of legal entities with their registered office abroad.

• The management and administration of non-operating legal entities.

• Contributions to and distributions from non-operating legal entities.

• The purchase and sale of legal entities, provided that the purchase or sale is carried out by a non-operating legal entity.

Separately, Article 2 para. 3ter AMLA covers the professional provision of addresses or premises as a domicile or registered office for legal entities for a period of more than six months.

Not every legal, tax or corporate advisory service, and not every company formation or administrative service, automatically results in being subject to the AMLA. The decisive factors are the specific activity, the statutory exemptions and the requirements for acting on a professional basis under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO).

We therefore recommend, in particular, that businesses offering company formation, board of directors mandates or domicile services carefully review their services.

Holding a board of directors mandate does not automatically make the holder subject to the AMLA under the new adviser provisions. Activities as a corporate body of operating legal entities are excluded. In the case of non-operating legal entities, possible coverage as a financial intermediary must also be assessed.

2. New compliance obligations for advisers

Advisers subject to the AMLA must fulfil the AMLA due diligence obligations applicable to them. These include, in particular, identifying the contracting party, establishing the beneficial owners, carrying out risk-based inquiries and maintaining comprehensible documentation.

Article 8d AMLA also requires appropriate organisational measures to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and breaches of coercive measures under the Embargo Act.

We recommend that financial intermediaries that are already regulated review their existing compliance processes and, where necessary, extend them to cover the newly covered advisory activities.

3. SRO membership: Transitional period until 1 December 2026

Advisers who are already carrying out a newly covered activity on 1 October 2026 must submit an application for membership of a recognised self-regulatory organisation (SRO) by 1 December 2026 at the latest.

Until a decision on their membership application has been made, these advisers may, in principle, continue their covered activity only within existing business relationships. The applicable statutory obligations must already be complied with from the date of entry into force.

Financial intermediaries already subject to supervision that, on 1 October 2026, additionally carry out covered advisory activities must notify these activities to the competent supervisory authority or organisation by 1 December 2026. For entities supervised by FINMA, notification is made via the Survey and Application Platform (EHP). The special transitional provision of the AMLO applies to these financial intermediaries; the notification must be distinguished from the membership application to be submitted by newly covered advisers.

4. What businesses should do now

We recommend that affected businesses review whether their services may be subject to the AMLA, clarify the required SRO membership or the notification to the competent supervisory authority, and adapt their internal compliance processes.

In practice, internal AML directives must be drawn up or adapted to govern responsibilities and the implementation of the applicable due diligence and reporting obligations. These include, in particular, client identification, establishing the beneficial owners, risk classification, sanctions checks and documenting the subject matter and purpose of the mandate, as well as enhanced inquiries where risks are higher. In addition, employees must be trained, and procedures must be established for dealing with irregularities and suspicious cases, including any reports to MROS.