Switzerland Ill-Equipped in Fight Against White Collar Crimes: SFAO Report

Richard Marley
September 05, 2022
3 minutes read
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The Swiss Federal Audit Office investigated Switzerland’s meager protocols against white-collar crimes. Real estate and precious metals are common commodities for criminals to launder their illegitimate actions.

Compiled by SFAO (Swiss Federal Audit Office), the audits from 2012-2015 revealed financial & reputational risks and weaknesses for the Swiss authorities. Real estate sector of the country is an important concern, especially the land registry; it was noted that proper surveillance should be ensured. The country faces criticism for insufficient strategies to fight against money laundering.

Being a popular commodity, real estate is a safe haven for fraudsters to hide their black money. Despite having federal laws that limit Swiss land acquisition by foreigners, upholding them is the state’s responsibility. SFAO reported that when it comes to monitoring money laundering threats through the country’s real estate sector, it leaves Switzerland’s financial and supervisory authorities splintered.

Commodities were another important sector critiqued by SFAO, particularly precious metals like gold. The report said that almost 2,300 tons of gold, worth CHF 63 billion (US$64.4 billion), transited through Swiss customs inspection. However, the country’s financial authorities observed significant room for improvement in precious metal control and surveillance.

Supervisory authorities’ powers were restricted to only a few regulatory checks at the precious metal checkpoints. Under AMLA, when it comes to buying melted goods, authorities are far behind in maintaining standard protocols. According to the report, presently, authorities are restricted “to examining trade in gold bars that have already been melted down between the trade auditors and the financial institutions.”

SFAO officials didn’t comment when asked by OCCRP to explain the extent to which they want to see the supervisory powers of the country’s precious metals authorities.

SFAO’s report addressed the investigations’ speed and considered it important to combat financial crimes. It’s especially relevant to Geneva and Zurich as they are among the largest financial centers worldwide. The financial watchdog evaluated the inefficiency of criminal proceedings in monetary fraud and investigation against white-collar crimes in general.

One explanation was that the courts and financial authorities of the country are overworked. The report noted that a single court has to investigate huge amounts of sealed computer data, including USB sticks, hard drives, telephones, and so on. Furthermore, on average, the proceedings can last up to 400 days.

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ASIC Expands its Team to Enhance Cryptocurrency Regulations
Australia’s financial regulator has enhanced the size of its crypto team. The crypto regulatory measures include their application for financial services licenses and show that specific crypto platforms have particular liquidity in reserve.

After shifting popular blockchain from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) system, ASIC, Australia’s financial regulator, has increased the size of its crypto team.

U.S. Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler stated that PoS-based tokens might be classified as securities.

The decision of ASIC to keep PoS tokens for example Ethereum, Cardano and Solana under its remit will further clarify the situation and enable crypto regulations to be more effective. To cope with the latest regulatory reforms, the crypto exchange must either delist the tokens or start complying with robust crypto laws.

Such moves may force a few crypto firms to manage their operating models. Even the largest stablecoin of the crypto market, Tether, has been caught in a controversy created over the failure of holding enough dollar reserves to back the stablecoin.

The crypto regulatory measures include their application for financial services licenses and show that these platforms have particular liquidity in reserve.

The final decision by the regulator has not been issued yet. Greg Yanco, the executive director for marketers, said that ASIC won’t be a “cheerleader for crypto assets.”

SEC Newgate carried out research the last November. It showed that 44% of Australian retail investors reported holding crypto. Out of these investors, only 20% viewed crypto as high-risk.

The chairperson of ASIC responded and said that the regulators were “concerned that there are limited protections for crypto-asset investments given they have become increasingly mainstream and are heavily advertised and promoted. There is a strong case for regulating crypto-assets to better protect investors.”

According to Yanco, until the last year, cryptocurrency was not such a high priority. Still, due to the decline of cryptocurrency in the previous few years and investors wiped out around the globe, ASIC expanded its team. It made crypto one of its “core strategic projects.”

Suggested Read: Regulatory Authorities to File a New Bill to Secure the Citizens from Cyber Criminal Activities

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All the digital service providers particularly financial companies, educational institutions, and immigration departments are at high risk of document fraud. The criminals use forged documents to claim funds, admissions to universities, or entry to foreign countries. By implementing standards of forensic forgery detection, all online businesses can secure their onboarding system with very less risks of scams. The forensic authentication of documents involves scientific techniques to verify the identities of users leaving no room for criminals.

How Forensic Document Verification is Carried Out?

Forensic document verification involves incorporation of scientific rules in examining the authenticity of records. There are experts in this field who carry out all the operations using specialized methods. Nowadays, the use of forensics is rising, especially in courts where no document is accepted without authentication. By using several techniques like handwriting identification, ultraviolet light sources, microscopes, photography, and infrared imaging in the laboratories, a document is verified. All the major jurisdictions have formed dedicated institutions which overlook the process of document verification. The American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) is the primary authoritative body responsible for monitoring forensic operations in the US, and any person carrying out these activities anywhere in the country must be a member of this board.

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Canada

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Australia

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What Shufti Pro Offers?

Shufti Pro’s state-of-the-art identity verification services can help online businesses implement a robust solution against document fraud. Combating financial crimes through efficient record authentication will secure the identities of users and ensure compliance with global regulatory standards. Powered by thousands of AI algorithms Shufti Pro’s KYC solution uses advanced techniques like OCR and forensic document examination to verify documents in real-time. It generates output in less than a second with 98.67% accuracy.

Want to know more about forensic forgery analysis of documents for digital businesses?

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Switzerland Ill-Equipped in Fight Against White Collar Crimes: SFAO Report

Forensic Document Verification – A New Standard

How Forensic Document Verification is Carried Out?

High-Profile Crime Cases of Document Fraud

Gang Arrested for Printing Fake Documents in Greece

Criminal Network Busted for Distributing Fake Documents

Regulatory Authorities Monitoring Document Fraud

Canada

Australia

Document Forgery Forensic Authentication – Ensuring KYC Compliance

What Shufti Pro Offers?

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Let’s prove your customer’s

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