The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published an update highlighting that the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has amended Switzerland’s list of sanctioned individuals, companies and organisations under the measures targeting persons and groups linked to the Taliban. The change follows an update by the relevant United Nations sanctions committee and is directly applicable in Switzerland, with SECO updating the SESAM sanctions database accordingly. Financial intermediaries are required to implement the applicable prohibitions, freeze the assets of sanctioned persons, and report affected business relationships to SECO. Reporting to SECO does not remove the obligation to conduct additional checks in the presence of suspicion under Article 6 of the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG) and, where suspicion cannot be dispelled, to file a report with the Money Laundering Reporting Office under Article 9 of the GwG.
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) 2026-03-11
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority publishes update on SECO implementation of UN changes to Taliban-linked sanctions list
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced that the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) updated Switzerland’s sanctions list, targeting individuals and groups linked to the Taliban, following a United Nations committee update. Financial intermediaries must enforce prohibitions, freeze assets, and report affected relationships to SECO, while conducting further checks under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act.