Compliance and criminal law

French	English	Deutsch	Definition
Blanchiment d’argent	money laundering	Geldwäscherei	concealment of the criminal origin of assets
Bureau de communication	Money Laundering Reporting Office	Meldestelle für Geldwäscherei	authority receiving suspicious activity reports
Communication de soupçons	suspicious activity report	Verdachtsmeldung	report to the Money Laundering Reporting Office
Convention de diligence	due diligence agreement	Vereinbarung über die Standesregeln zur Sorgfaltspflicht	banking self-regulation since 1977
Créance compensatrice	compensatory claim	Ersatzforderung	confiscation of the equivalent of illicit profits
Défaut de vigilance	lack of due diligence	mangelnde Sorgfalt	offence under Article 305ter of the Criminal Code
Gel des avoirs	asset freeze	Vermögenssperre	blocking ordered in application of sanctions
Personne politiquement exposée	politically exposed person	politisch exponierte Person	person holding or having held a prominent public function
Règle du voyage	travel rule	Travel Rule	transmission of identification data with a transfer
Responsabilité pénale de l’entreprise	corporate criminal liability	Unternehmensstrafrecht	Article 102 of the Criminal Code
Restitution des avoirs	asset recovery	Rückerstattung von Vermögenswerten	return of illicit assets to the state of origin
Sanctions	sanctions	Sanktionen	measures of economic coercion
Vigilance renforcée	enhanced due diligence	erhöhte Sorgfaltspflicht	heightened checks for higher-risk relationships

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Compliance and criminal law

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