Is Switzerland (finally) introducing a Beneficial Owner Register?

The Federal Council has on 12 October 2022 instructed the Federal Department of Finance to draft a bill on increased transparency and easier identification of the beneficial owners of legal entities by June 2023, introducing a central register for the identification of beneficial owners. The register will not be publicly available, but only accessible to the relevant authorities. It could be expected that the register is in place by 2024 at the very earliest. 

The register should be a step in the right direction to increase transparency and simplifying the identification of beneficial owners of legal entities, strengthen prevention and prosecution on the area of financial crime, just as well as the reputation of Switzerland as a financial centre and business location – all the while not upsetting the financial industry too much by keeping access restricted. A good Swiss compromise, it would seem.