Only a handful of states have been actively pursuing the enforcement of foreign bribery. Switzerland is one of them and its efforts to crack down on this offence is commendable.

Between 2011 and 2024, Switzerland issued 14 final judicial orders at a federal level against Swiss-linked companies that engaged in foreign bribery. In these proceedings, the companies were ordered to hand over approximately CHF 730 million (combined) in illicit profits that they had obtained through their foreign bribery schemes, and an additional CHF 30 million in fines.

Only a handful of states have been actively pursuing the enforcement of foreign bribery. Switzerland is one of them and its efforts to crack down on this offence is commendable.

Between 2011 and 2024, Switzerland issued 14 final judicial orders at a federal level against Swiss-linked companies that engaged in foreign bribery. In these proceedings, the companies were ordered to hand over approximately CHF 730 million (combined) in illicit profits that they had obtained through their foreign bribery schemes, and an additional CHF 30 million in fines.

In an article published in the inaugural issue of the Bulletin of The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, Oscar Solorzano and Gretta Fenner analyse a recent decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, which cleared the way for returning funds tied to corruption to Peru. The decision sets an important precedent for the use of non-conviction based forfeiture laws to recover illicit assets in the absence of a criminal conviction. This is a crucial step in the fight against global corruption. 

This publication from the Wolfsberg Group is designed to provide guidance to the financial services industry on how to develop, implement, and maintain an effective Anti-Bribery & Corruption (ABC) Compliance Programme, and should be read in conjunction with applicable legislation, regulation, and guidance issued by authorities in the jurisdictions in which a financial institution conducts business. The overall objective of the Guidance is to promote a culture of ethical business practices and compliance with ABC legal and regulatory requirements.

This case study describes how Switzerland is putting to test a rarely used but powerful law in order to confiscate assets connected to Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity, with the aim of returning these to Ukraine.

Key points:

This case study explains how the Peruvian State used its non-conviction based forfeiture law, extinción de dominio, to recover a Swiss bank account containing illicit kickbacks paid for the purchase of war planes.

This case was the first of a series of cases between Peru and Switzerland involving Peru’s extinción de dominio law, which enables the confiscation of illicit assets in cases where a criminal conviction of an individual is not possible or desirable. It has paved the way for other proceedings, some of which are still pending in the tribunals.