Compliance, sanctions and criminal liability

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The figures come from the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.¹

Indicator	Value	Reference	Part
Suspicious activity reports filed with MROS	21,087 (+39.3%)	2025	H
Share of banks in these reports	91.3%	2025	H
Cases forwarded to the prosecuting authorities	1,375	2025	H
Russian assets frozen in Switzerland	CHF 7.4 billion	1 April 2025	H
Conviction of Gunvor (Congo, Côte d’Ivoire)	CHF 94 million	14 October 2019	H
Conviction of Gunvor (Ecuador), Switzerland	CHF 86.7 million	2024	H
Compensatory claim against Glencore	USD 150 million	5 August 2024	H
Compensatory claim against Trafigura	USD 145 million	31 January 2025	H
Potentates’ assets returned by Switzerland	more than USD 2 billion	cumulative	I
Abacha assets frozen and then returned	more than 700 million frozen; more than one billion returned	1999-2017	I

Notes

Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland, annual reports 2024 and 2025; State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, assets frozen as at 1 April 2025; Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and Federal Criminal Court, cited in Part H. ↩

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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