# AMLR Art. 71 — Refraining from carrying out transactions > GwG Art. 9b Abs. 2bis is a 2025-revision provision (BBl 2025 2899), in force 1 October 2026. - **Part of:** [[AMLR]] - **FATF keying:** [[FATF R.20 - Reporting of suspicious transactions|FATF R.20]] - **Swiss provisions:** [[GwG Art. 9a - Client orders concerning reported assets|GwG Art. 9a]] - **Detailed citation:** GwG Art. 9a, 9b (rev. Abs. 2bis), 10 ## What it requires Obliged entities must refrain from carrying out a transaction they know or suspect is linked to criminal proceeds or terrorist financing until they have filed the Art. 69(1)(a) report and followed any further FIU instructions; absent contrary instructions, they may proceed after 3 working days from filing (Para 1). Where refraining is impossible, or would frustrate tracing the beneficiaries, the entity must inform the FIU immediately after the transaction instead (Para 2). ## Swiss position Swiss law has no general default duty to refrain from the underlying transaction pending a report. GwG Art. 9a instead provides that during MROS's Art. 23 Abs. 2 analysis, the financial intermediary 'führt aus' (continues to carry out) client orders concerning assets reported under Art. 9 Abs. 1 Bst. a or StGB Art. 305ter Abs. 2. A freeze attaches only later, under GwG Art. 10: the intermediary must block the assets once MROS notifies it that the report is being forwarded to a prosecution authority (Abs. 1), or immediately in the Art. 9 Abs. 1 Bst. c name-match case (Abs. 1bis); the freeze runs until a prosecutorial order arrives, capped at 5 working days from that notification or report (Abs. 2). From 1.10.2026, GwG Art. 9b Abs. 2bis lets an adviser who has reported terminate the relationship at any time - see [[The adviser regime (2025 GwG revision)]]. ## Key divergences The two mechanisms run in opposite default directions. AMLR Art. 71 stops the transaction first, for up to 3 working days, then permits it absent a contrary FIU instruction. GwG Art. 9a does the reverse by default - the intermediary keeps executing orders during MROS's analysis - and a freeze is triggered only once MROS decides to forward the case (Art. 10 Abs. 1), or immediately for the Art. 9 Abs. 1 Bst. c name-match case (Abs. 1bis), running up to 5 working days pending a prosecutor's order. So the Swiss default is continued execution with a conditional, later-triggered freeze, while the AMLR default is an immediate hold with a conditional later release. The adviser's right to terminate the relationship after reporting (Art. 9b Abs. 2bis, from 1.10.2026) is a further release mechanism with no parallel in AMLR Art. 71, which addresses only the transaction, not the relationship. ## Effective dates GwG Art. 9b Abs. 2bis is a 2025-revision provision (BBl 2025 2899), in force 1 October 2026. ## 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.* - [[FATF R.4 - Confiscation and provisional measures|FATF R.4 — Confiscation and provisional measures]] — AMLR Art. 71 makes obliged entities refrain from suspicious transactions pending the FIU's instructions; R.4(b) requires authorities to be able to suspend or withhold consent to a transaction. *(related)* - [[GwG Art. 10 - Freezing of assets|GwG Art. 10]] — Opposite defaults: AMLR Art. 71 has the entity refrain from the transaction until it has reported and the FIU has had 3 working days to respond; GwG Art. 10 freezes reported assets only once MROS passes the case on (or at once for terrorist-list matches), for up to five working days. *(related)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), Article 71 — English text (EUR-Lex, CELEX 32024R1624) > **Article 71** > *Refraining from carrying out transactions* > 1. Obliged entities shall refrain from carrying out transactions which they know or suspect to be related to proceeds of criminal activity or to terrorist financing until they have submitted a report in accordance with Article 69(1), first subparagraph, point (a), and have complied with any further specific instructions from the FIU or other competent authority in accordance with the applicable law. Obliged entities may carry out the transaction concerned after having assessed the risks of proceeding with the transaction if they have not received instructions to the contrary from the FIU within 3 working days of submitting the report. > 2. Where it is not possible for an obliged entity to refrain from carrying out a transaction as referred to in paragraph 1or where refraining would be likely to frustrate efforts to pursue the beneficiaries of a suspected transaction, the obliged entity shall inform the FIU immediately after carrying out the transaction. ## Sources - AMLR Art. 71 — CELEX 32024R1624 - GwG SR 955.0, Art. 9a, Art. 10 - GwG (rev., BBl 2025 2899), Art. 9b Abs. 2bis