📎 230428StartAMLOpenLegalLab23.pdf

Die Herausforderung besteht darin, über Möglichkeiten zur Verbesserung der aktuellen Situation nachzudenken und ein Werkzeug/System zu entwickeln, mit dem die Beantwortung einfacher rechtlicher Fragen im Zusammenhang mit dem GwG effektiver und effizienter gestaltet werden kann. Dies könnte vom Aufbau eines gemeinsamen Wissensspeichers, in dem die Finanzmarktteilnehmer ihre Informationen und Antworten auf spezifische rechtliche Fragen austauschen können, bis hin zum Aufbau eines Chatbots reichen, der automatisch Unterstützung leistet, wenn er bestimmte Fragen zu diesem Bereich der Regulierung erhält. Weitere Ideen sind mehr als willkommen. Die wichtigste Voraussetzung ist, dass die Daten aller Personen, die das Tool/System nutzen, geschützt sind und keine persönlichen Daten veröffentlicht werden.

Most financial market participants (e.g. banks, securities dealers and financial intermediaries) are subject to to the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and the corresponding ordinances and guidelines. The AML-Regulation is a fast changing area of law and many FinTech startups have already brought a certain level of automation to it (e.g. KYC-providers that automatically identify customers through online-platforms).

Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement. Most financial market players engage in-house or external counsel to provide support in answering at least partially redundant questions concerning the application of the AMLA. According to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) the Ordinance on measures related to the situation in Ukraine that entered into force in 2022 led to over 8'000 requests by financial market participants to MROS asking for clarifications. This despite the fact that an FAQ was published alongside the ordinance. Most of these requests were answered by hand which understandably led to a material backlog and week long waiting times for answers. It can only be assumed how many more questions with regards to said ordinance have been asked by financial market participants to their in-house and external counsels.

Questions with regards to the AMLA are often asked by front office employees. The following examples could be used: "Am I allowed to onboard a Russian national having dual citizenship (Russia/Switzerland)", "Which documents do I need to check when onboarding a foundation", "Do I need to report situation XYZ to the AML-Officer and/or MROS", etc.

For the purpose of this challenge it is assumed that the questions are redundant and their answer can be found in the public legal documentation of the Swiss AML-Regulation (in particular the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance-FINMA, FINMA Circular 2011/1 on Financial Intermediation, the Swiss Bankers Association CDB 20: revised code of conduct in the area of the fight against money laundering, the VQF SRO-Regulation).

The challenge is to think about ways to improve the current situation and build a tool/system with which the answering of simple legal questions related to the AMLA can be made more effective and efficient. This could range from building a common knowledge repository where financial market participants can share their information and answers to specific legal questions and/or building a chatbot that can automatically support in case it receives certain questions within this area of regulation. Further ideas are more than welcome. The main condition is that the data of all persons using the tool/system is protected and no personal data will be made public.

📧 David Billeter