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Mutual legal assistance as an international asset recovery case study Switzerland
- "Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) is a judicial cooperation request made between governments that can be used by prosecutors to obtain victim restitution in certain cases. This study was intended to introduce United States (U.S.) attorneys, victims of fraud, and prosecutors to the mutual legal assistance process between the U.S. and Switzerland and to demonstrate how this process can be used for asset recovery in criminal money laundering cases. The importance of the study is to educate the parties on when this mechanism is available, how it works, its limitations and advantages, and asset recovery alternatives. This study found that although Switzerland is a money laundering haven that has taken a position against money laundering and has developed the framework to combat it and to cooperate with other jurisdictions to freeze, seize, and return criminal proceeds. Most MLAT requests made by the U.S. to Switzerland relate to money laundering, and the Swiss have a strong record of accepting requests provided certain conditions are met. MLAT requests can be denied on grounds of fishing expedition, double criminality, broad jurisdiction, or statute of limitations. The study found the best strategy to obtain victim restitution in criminal money laundering cases is often determined by the stage of the proceedings. MLAT appears to be most advantageous for recovery purposes in the early stages of the criminal proceeding, when no civil or criminal judgment exists, but when the whereabouts of the criminal proceeds in Switzerland is known. MLAT can thus be used to freeze the assets and prevent their dissipation."
- "Mutual legal assistance as an international asset recovery case study Switzerland"