# AMLR Art. 77 — Record retention - **Part of:** [[AMLR]] - **FATF keying:** [[FATF R.11 - Record-keeping|FATF R.11]] - **Swiss provisions:** [[GwG Art. 7 - Duty to keep records|GwG Art. 7]], [[GwG Art. 34 - Data collections connected with the|GwG Art. 34]], [[GwV-FINMA Art. 22 - Documentation and retention of records|GwV-FINMA Art. 22]], [[GwV-FINMA Art. 39 - Documentation obligations|GwV-FINMA Art. 39]] - **Detailed citation:** GwG Art. 7, 34; GwV-FINMA Art. 22, 39 > [!tip] In practice > - Swiss records: keep for at least ten years after the relationship or transaction ends (GwG Art. 7 Abs. 3). No upper limit is stated. > - AMLR records: keep for five years, then delete personal data, unless an authority requires up to five more years. > - In a group with EU and Swiss entities, the two periods do not align. > - MROS report databases are destroyed five years after the report (GwG Art. 34 Abs. 4). ## What it requires Obliged entities retain CDD documents, the Art. 69(2) suspicion-assessment record and any STR, transaction evidence, and partnership information-sharing records, unredacted (para 1), with a reference-only alternative under conditions (para 2). Retention runs 5 years from relationship termination, transaction or refusal, with personal data deleted at expiry; authorities may require a further case-by-case period up to 5 more years on necessity grounds (para 3). A transitional rule lets entities keep records for proceedings pending on 10 July 2027 for 5 years from that date, extendable a further 5 (para 4). ## Swiss position GwG Art. 7 (Dokumentationspflicht): the financial intermediary creates records of transactions and required enquiries so that qualified third parties can form a reliable judgment (Abs. 1); keeps them so it can meet law-enforcement information/seizure requests within a reasonable time (Abs. 2); and retains them for at least ten years after the relationship or transaction ends (Abs. 3). GwV-FINMA Art. 22 requires the same documentation to also let FINMA, its appointed auditors/investigators, an audit firm and the Aufsichtsorganisation form a reliable judgment within reasonable time (Abs. 1), and to meet law-enforcement and other authorised bodies' requests (Abs. 2). GwV-FINMA Art. 39 (banks/securities firms) requires documentation identifying the originator of outgoing payment orders and whether a person is contracting party, controlling person or beneficial owner, conducted an identifiable cash transaction, or holds standing power of attorney. ## Key divergences AMLR Art. 77(3) sets a 5-year base retention from termination/transaction/refusal, with mandatory deletion of personal data at expiry and only a case-by-case, necessity-justified extension up to a further 5 years. GwG Art. 7 Abs. 3 instead sets an outright minimum of ten years, with no case-by-case justification required and no stated ceiling -- the Swiss floor already equals the AMLR's discretionary maximum. GwG Art. 34 Abs. 4 separately requires report-related databases to be destroyed exactly five years after filing, a mandatory-deletion rule pointing the other way from Art. 7's minimum-retention rule and serving a different purpose. AMLR Art. 77(1)(d) specifically requires retention of partnership information-sharing records; Switzerland has no counterpart private information-sharing-partnership regime (see the Art. 75 node), so no parallel retention duty exists for that category. GwV-FINMA Art. 22/39 supplement Art. 7 for FINMA-supervised intermediaries but set no retention period of their own. **Groups with EU and Swiss entities.** The two periods do not align. A Swiss entity must keep records for at least ten years (GwG Art. 7 Abs. 3). An EU entity must delete personal data when the five-year period ends, unless a competent authority requires further retention or another retention period applies under Union law or GDPR-compliant national law (AMLR Art. 77(3)). ## 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. 44 - Duty to ensure documentation|VSB 20 Art. 44]] — Both require retention of CDD identification records. AMLR 77(1)(a) covers all CDD documents and sets 5 years from end of the relationship (further case-by-case extension up to 5 years); VSB 20 Art. 44 sets no period (GwG Art. 7 Abs. 3: ten years). *(direct)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), Article 77 — English text (EUR-Lex, CELEX 32024R1624) > **Article 77** > *Record retention* > 1. Obliged entities shall retain the following documents and information: > (a) a copy of the documents and information obtained in the performance of customer due diligence pursuant to Chapter III, including information obtained through electronic identification means; > (b) a record of the assessment undertaken pursuant to Article 69(2), including the information and circumstances considered and the results of such assessment, whether or not such assessment results in a suspicious transaction report being made to the FIU, and a copy of the suspicion transaction report, if any; > (c) the supporting evidence and records of transactions, consisting of the original documents or copies admissible in judicial proceedings under the applicable national law, which are necessary to identify transactions; > (d) when they participate in partnerships for information sharing pursuant to Chapter VI, copies of the documents and information obtained in the framework of those partnerships, and records of all instances of information sharing. > Obliged entities shall ensure that documents, information and records kept pursuant to this Article are not redacted. > 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, obliged entities may decide to replace the retention of copies of the information by a retention of the references to such information, provided that the nature and method of retention of such information ensure that the obliged entities can provide immediately to competent authorities the information and that the information cannot be modified or altered. > Obliged entities making use of the derogation referred to in the first subparagraph shall define in their internal procedures drawn up pursuant to Article 9, the categories of information for which they will retain a reference instead of a copy or original, as well as the procedures for retrieving the information so that it can be provided to competent authorities upon request. > 3. The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be retained for a period of 5 years commencing on the date of the termination of the business relationship or on the date of the carrying out of the occasional transaction, or on the date of refusal to enter into a business relationship or carry out an occasional transaction. Without prejudice to retention periods for data collected for the purposes of other Union legal acts or national law complying with Regulation (EU) 2016/679, obliged entities shall delete personal data upon expiry of the five-year period. > Competent authorities may require further retention of the information referred to in the first subparagraph on a case-by-case basis, provided that such retention is necessary for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of money laundering or terrorist financing. That further retention period shall not exceed 5 years. > 4. Where, on 10 July 2027, legal proceedings concerned with the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing are pending in a Member State, and an obliged entity holds information or documents relating to those pending proceedings, the obliged entity may retain that information or those documents for a period of 5 years from 10 July 2027. > Member States may, without prejudice to national criminal law on evidence applicable to ongoing criminal investigations and legal proceedings, allow or require the retention of such information or documents for a further period of 5 years where the necessity and proportionality of such further retention have been established for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing. ## Sources - AMLR Art. 77 — CELEX 32024R1624 - GwG SR 955.0, Art. 7, Art. 34 - GwV-FINMA SR 955.033.0, Art. 22, Art. 39