Swiss Attorney General Stefan Blaettler stated that pre-digital-era laws are causing significant delays in prosecuting white-collar crime in Switzerland, as defendants use provisions to seal evidence and delay information sharing [1, 2]. Blaettler said, "In the end, we often have a race against time," and acknowledged that proceedings can sometimes take 15 years [1].

These delays have had major consequences. In April 2026, a Swiss court discontinued the trial against Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan’s late president, because of the statute of limitations. She was accused of leading a criminal organization laundering hundreds of millions of dollars to Swiss accounts [1, 2]. In May 2026, the criminal court dropped charges against a former Credit Suisse compliance chief linked to a scandal that worsened Mozambique’s economic collapse about a decade ago, again due to timing limits [1, 2].

About 90% of cases in which prosecutors request evidence to be sealed are eventually ruled in their favor. However, the delays this process causes often make prosecutions infeasible, Blaettler said [1]. Switzerland’s strong economy and political stability continue to draw money laundering networks, Transparency International warned, calling current prosecutions only the "tip of the iceberg" [2].

Despite calls for reform, Switzerland’s right-wing majority in parliament resists tightening white-collar crime laws, fearing harm to the country’s wealth management competitiveness [2]. The government is considering closer cooperation with the European Union to speed digital evidence seizures and address timing problems [1].

Blaettler, who prioritized cracking down on white-collar crime since taking office in 2022, has obtained bribery convictions against commodity traders Trafigura and Gunvor and imposed money laundering penalties on several Swiss banks [1]. In 2025, the private bank J. Safra Sarasin was fined after evidence was sealed for over five years in a graft case linked to the Petrobras scandal [1].

The government continues discussions on reforms and cooperation with the EU to prevent further statute of limitations blocks and speed prosecutions.