# GwG Art. 1 — Subject matter - **Rubric (DE):** Gegenstand - **Rubric (EN):** Subject matter - **Status:** In force ## Description Article 1 is the Act's purpose clause (*Gegenstand*). It states that the GwG regulates the combating of money laundering within the meaning of Art. 305bis StGB, the combating of terrorist financing within the meaning of Art. 260quinquies Abs. 1 StGB, and the safeguarding of due diligence (*Sorgfalt*) in financial transactions. This wording dates to a 2009 revision implementing the then-revised FATF Recommendations. Under the annex to the Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities (TJPG) of 26 September 2025, a further object has been added, in force since 1 October 2026: preventing violations of coercive measures under the Embargo Act of 22 March 2002 (EmbG, SR 946.231). From that date the GwG's stated purpose spans AML, CFT and sanctions-evasion prevention, and the same annex adds a corresponding EmbG reference to Art. 8 first sentence. ## Context & interpretation As a purpose clause, Art. 1 creates no directly enforceable duty of its own; it is the interpretive anchor courts, FINMA and the SROs use when construing the specific due-diligence and reporting obligations in Chapters 2–4. The 1.10.2026 addition of sanctions-evasion prevention was legislated together with the wider 2025 GwG/TJPG reform package (adviser CDD, beneficial-ownership transparency register), which entered into force on the same date. ## Serves AMLR - [[AMLR Art. 1 - Subject matter|AMLR Art. 1]] — Subject matter - [[AMLR Art. 27 - UN-sanctioned customers|AMLR Art. 27]] — UN-sanctioned customers ## Swiss counterparts - [[StGB Art. 305bis - Money laundering|StGB Art. 305bis]] — GwG Art. 1 defines the Act's subject as combating money laundering within the meaning of StGB Art. 305bis. *(direct)* - [[StGB Art. 260quinquies - Terrorist financing|StGB Art. 260quinquies]] — GwG Art. 1 covers combating terrorist financing within the meaning of StGB Art. 260quinquies Abs. 1. *(direct)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- GwG Art. 1 — German original, SR 955.0, consolidated version of 1 October 2026 (Fedlex) > **Art. 1 Gegenstand** > Dieses Gesetz regelt die Bekämpfung der Geldwäscherei im Sinne von Artikel 305bis des Strafgesetzbuches (StGB), die Bekämpfung der Terrorismusfinanzierung im Sinne von Artikel 260quinquies Absatz 1 StGB und die Sicherstellung der Sorgfalt bei Finanzgeschäften, einschliesslich zur Verhinderung von Verstössen gegen Zwangsmassnahmen nach dem Embargogesetz vom 22. März 2002 (EmbG).