The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has discovered that Bank SYZ SA violated AML regulations during its business relationship with an Angola-based client. FINMA opened these enforcement proceedings against Bank SYZ SA in February 2020.
The authority found that the bank failed to appropriately investigate the significant increase in the Angolan client’s assets. Despite the knowledge that this client was connected to political exposed persons (PEPs), the bank failed to address issues that should have raised suspicions. The bank also did not investigate many large high-risk transactions by the client. Consequently, FINMA has reprimanded the bank for failing to conduct its due diligence as required by AML regulations.
Since FINMA’s proceedings, Bank SYZ SA has taken significant measures to ensure complete compliance with AML regulations. As the supervising authority, FINMA will have an independent auditor assess how well the bank has updated its AML measures.