# AMLR Art. 21 — Inability to comply with CDD > GwG Art. 9b Abs. 2bis has been in force since 1 October 2026. AMLR Art. 21 applies from 10 July 2027. See [[Effective-dates timeline]]. - **Part of:** [[AMLR]] - **FATF keying:** [[FATF R.10 - Customer due diligence|FATF R.10]] - **Swiss provisions:** [[GwG Art. 9b - Adviser may terminate the business|GwG Art. 9b]], [[GwV-FINMA Art. 55 - Failure to identify contracting party|GwV-FINMA Art. 55]], [[GwV-FINMA Art. 68 - Failure to establish controlling person|GwV-FINMA Art. 68]], [[GwV-FINMA Art. 70 - Termination of business relationship|GwV-FINMA Art. 70]], [[VSB 20]] - **Detailed citation:** GwG Art. 9b; GwV-FINMA Art. 55, 68, 70 ## What it requires Where an obliged entity cannot complete customer due diligence under Art. 20(1), Art. 21(1) requires it to refrain from the transaction or relationship and terminate any existing one, and to consider a suspicious-transaction report - without barring receipt of funds due to the obliged entity or requiring disposal of customer assets it must protect; life insurers may instead freeze payouts. Paragraph 2 exempts notaries, lawyers and similar professionals acting in a judicial or legal-advice capacity, unless complicit. Paragraph 3 requires records of the actions taken, including refusals and terminations. ## Swiss position GwG Art. 9b sets the rule for terminating a relationship after a report to MROS; GwV-FINMA cross-references it by name at Art. 55(2) (identification fails), Art. 68(2) (controlling-person or beneficial-owner determination fails) and Art. 70 (doubts persist after the renewed identification under Art. 69, or a suspicion of knowingly false information). The 2026 revision adds Art. 9b Abs. 2bis: an adviser who files a suspicious-transaction report may terminate the business relationship at any time. [[Scope note — GwV-FINMA Title 5 vs VSB 20]] applies: Art. 55, 68 and 70 bind only fintech-licence firms, portfolio managers, trustees and DLT trading systems; banks proceed under VSB 20. ## Key divergences GwV-FINMA Art. 55, 68 and 70 all refer to GwG Art. 9b (and GwV Art. 12a-12b) for the termination procedure itself. Under GwG Art. 9b Abs. 1, the intermediary may terminate a reported relationship once MROS has not notified it within 40 working days that the reported information has been passed to a prosecution authority. AMLR Art. 21 has no counterpart fixed waiting period tied to a financial intelligence unit's response. ## Effective dates GwG Art. 9b Abs. 2bis has been in force since 1 October 2026. AMLR Art. 21 applies from 10 July 2027. See [[Effective-dates timeline]]. ## Further connections *These links come from an article-by-article comparison of the primary texts. They add to the provisions listed at the top of this note and make no equivalence claim.* - [[VSB 20 Art. 45 - Timing of documentation|VSB 20 Art. 45]] — VSB Art. 45 Abs. 4 requires blocking the account if missing identification documents are not obtained within 30 days, and terminating the relationship if they cannot be supplied. *(direct)* - [[VSB 20 Art. 46 - Repetition in case of doubt|VSB 20 Art. 46]] — VSB Art. 46 Abs. 2 requires terminating the relationship if the bank was deceived on identity, was knowingly given false controlling-person or beneficial-owner details, or doubts persist after repeating the procedure; Abs. 3 bars termination once the GwG Art. 9 reporting duty applies, whereas AMLR Art. 21(1) requires termination and consideration of a suspicious transaction report. *(related)* - [[VSB 20 Art. 36 - Professional secrecy holders|VSB 20 Art. 36]] — VSB Art. 36 Abs. 3 requires terminating the relationship if the beneficial-owner declaration is not provided after a professional-secrecy confirmation proves unjustified; one specific case of AMLR's incomplete-CDD termination rule. *(related)* - [[VSB 20 Art. 44 - Duty to ensure documentation|VSB 20 Art. 44]] — VSB Art. 44 requires banks to ensure that identification, controlling-person and beneficial-owner work is documented and the files kept; AMLR Art. 21(3) is wider, covering all CDD actions, decisions and justifications. *(related)* - [[GwG Art. 7 - Duty to keep records|GwG Art. 7]] — GwG Art. 7 Abs. 1 requires records of the clarifications the Act demands, reviewable by experts, with periodic updating (Abs. 1bis); AMLR Art. 21(3) also requires records of decisions and their justifications. *(related)* - [[FATF R.11 - Record-keeping|FATF R.11 — Record-keeping]] — FATF R.11 requires keeping CDD documents, account files and analyses; AMLR Art. 21(3) requires records of CDD actions and decisions with supporting documents and justifications. *(related)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), Article 21 — English text (EUR-Lex, CELEX 32024R1624) > **Article 21** > *Inability to comply with the requirement to apply customer due diligence measures* > 1. Where an obliged entity is unable to comply with the requirement to apply customer due diligence measures laid down in Article 20(1), it shall refrain from carrying out a transaction or establishing a business relationship, and shall terminate the business relationship and consider reporting a suspicious transaction to the FIU in relation to the customer in accordance with Article 69. > The termination of a business relationship pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not prohibit the receipt of funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 due to the obliged entity. > Where an obliged entity has a duty to protect its customer’s assets, the termination of the business relationship shall not be understood as requiring the disposal of the assets of the customer. > In the case of life insurance contracts, obliged entities shall, where necessary as an alternative measure to terminating the business relationship, refrain from performing transactions for the customer, including payouts to beneficiaries, until the customer due diligence measures laid down in Article 20(1) are complied with. > 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to notaries, lawyers, other independent legal professionals, auditors, external accountants and tax advisors, to the extent that those persons ascertain the legal position of their client, or perform the task of defending or representing that client in, or concerning, judicial proceedings, including providing advice on instituting or avoiding such proceedings. > The first subparagraph shall not apply when the obliged entities referred to therein: > (a) take part in money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; > (b) provide legal advice for the purposes of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; or > (c) know that the client is seeking legal advice for the purposes of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; knowledge or purpose may be inferred from objective factual circumstances. > 3. Obliged entities shall keep record of the actions taken in order to comply with the requirement to apply customer due diligence measures, including records of the decisions taken and the relevant supporting documents and justifications. Documents, data or information held by the obliged entity shall be updated whenever the customer due diligence is reviewed pursuant to Article 26. > The obligation to keep records provided for in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall also apply to situations where obliged entities refuse to enter into a business relationship, terminate a business relationship or apply alternative measures pursuant to paragraph 1. > 4. By 10 July 2027, AMLA shall issue joint guidelines with the European Banking Authority on the measures that may be taken by credit institutions and financial institutions to ensure compliance with AML/CFT rules when implementing the requirements of Directive 2014/92/EU, including in relation to business relationships that are most affected by de-risking practices. ## Sources - AMLR Art. 21 - CELEX 32024R1624 - GwG SR 955.0, Art. 9b - GwG (rev. BBl 2025 2899, in force 1.10.2026), Art. 9b - GwV-FINMA SR 955.033.0, Art. 55, 68, 70