Switzerland

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Case or decision	Citation	Court or authority	Proposition
FINMA v QUID PRO QUO Association (E-Coin)	FINMA ruling and press release of 19 September 2017	FINMA	Issuing a "coin" against payment with a promise of redemption is unauthorised deposit-taking; liquidation of the issuers.
FINMA v Envion AG	FINMA ruling of March 2019; press release of 27 March 2019	FINMA	An ICO of about CHF 100 million raised deposits from the public without a licence; liquidation ordered; founders named.
Envion AG (appeal)	Federal Administrative Court, B-decision (2019–2021)	Federal Administrative Court	Confirmation of FINMA's qualification of the ICO proceeds as public deposits.
FlowBank SA	FINMA rulings of 8 March 2024 (licence withdrawal) and 13 June 2024 (bankruptcy)	FINMA	Bankruptcy of a bank with crypto custody business; custody assets segregated under Art. 16 and 37d BankA; depositors repaid ahead of the estate.
Reporting threshold under Art. 9 AMLA	BGE 147 IV 274	Federal Supreme Court	A financial intermediary's duty to report arises on a simple suspicion that cannot be dispelled by clarification; failure to report is punishable under Art. 37 AMLA.
Money laundering: obstruction of confiscation	BGE 119 IV 242	Federal Supreme Court	Any act apt to frustrate the tracing, seizure or confiscation of criminally derived assets is laundering under Art. 305bis SCC.
Money laundering by omission	BGE 136 IV 188	Federal Supreme Court	A financial intermediary who fails to report or freeze can commit laundering by omission where a legal duty to act exists.
Private capital gains and professional trading	BGE 125 II 113; BGer 2C_868/2008	Federal Supreme Court	Criteria distinguishing tax-free private asset management from self-employed securities trading, applied by the FTA to crypto assets.
Good faith acquisition of movables	BGE 122 III 1	Federal Supreme Court	Scope of Art. 933 ff. CC; the doctrine does not reach tokens because they are not things.
Trust recognition under the Hague Convention	BGE 135 III 614	Federal Supreme Court	Effects of a recognised foreign trust on Swiss attachment and enforcement.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For Hong Kong, our parallel site HongkongIQ.com offers the same practical guidance. For crypto and digital assets, dltreg.com covers legal, tax and fiduciary services. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.