Swisscom broke the rules on money laundering, according to a decision of the Federal Court made public on Wednesday. The number one telecom provider in Switzerland is singled out for an SMS payment service allowing the purchase of a nightly supplement collected by public transport in the Zurich region.
The Federal Court seized by Swisscom thus confirms the decision of the Federal Administrative Court rendered in May 2018. The operator had already turned to the TAF after a decision of the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). He was of the opinion that it was only collecting a tariff supplement which was not covered by the law on money laundering.
However, the Federal Court, like the TAF, is of the opinion that this is not just a collection of money. It is indeed a real financial service which allows a customer to mandate Swisscom to pay an invoice and transfer the money to the final beneficiary.
Such a circuit is subject to the law on money laundering. This law has for context the tracking of money of dubious origin likely to pass by parabanking systems. The law requires operators of such services to perform certain due diligence duties. (Judgment 2C_488 / 2018 vom 12.3.2020) (ats / nxp)
Created: 08.04.2020, 3:20 p.m.
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