# 2026-04033: Treasury Targets Swiss Bank as Money Laundering Threat in New Proposal 2026-04033, Proposal of Special Measure Regarding MBaer Merchant Bank AG as a Financial Institution Operating Outside of the United States of Primary Money Laundering Concern, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Treasury Department, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published 2026-03-02, effective Written comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking must be submitted on or before April 1, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04033 - As of: 2026-06-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-04033 - Title: Proposal of Special Measure Regarding MBaer Merchant Bank AG as a Financial Institution Operating Outside of the United States of Primary Money Laundering Concern - Type: Proposed Rule - Agencies: Treasury Department; Financial Crimes Enforcement Network - Citation: 91 FR 10034 - Published: 2026-03-02 - Effective: Written comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking must be submitted on or before April 1, 2026. - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: 1506-AB71 - Last updated: 2026-06-11 ## In one line Treasury Targets Swiss Bank as Money Laundering Threat in New Proposal ## Summary FinCEN is proposing new rules to stop MBaer Merchant Bank AG, a Swiss bank, from using U.S. financial systems because it’s linked to serious money laundering risks. U.S. banks would have to block MBaer from opening accounts and be extra careful with any transactions involving them. Comments on this plan are open until April 1, 2026, so the public can weigh in before it becomes official. ## Abstract FinCEN is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, pursuant to section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, that finds MBaer Merchant Bank AG (MBaer), a financial institution based in Switzerland, to be of primary money laundering concern, and proposes imposing a special measure to: (1) prohibit U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, MBaer; (2) require U.S. financial institutions to take reasonable steps not to process a transaction for the correspondent account in the United States of a foreign banking institution if such a transaction involves MBaer; and (3) require U.S. financial institutions to apply special due diligence to their foreign correspondent accounts that is reasonably designed to guard against their use to process transactions involving MBaer. ## Effects PRIA read - Ban on U.S. Banks Holding MBaer Accounts: cost, medium. FinCEN proposes, under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, to prohibit U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for or on behalf of MBaer Merchant Bank AG. This is a proposed rule in which FinCEN finds MBaer to be of primary money laundering concern and would… - Block U.S. Processing of MBaer-Related Wires: cost, medium. FinCEN proposes to require U.S. financial institutions to take reasonable steps not to process a transaction in the United States for a foreign bank's correspondent account if that transaction involves MBaer. U.S. banks would need to identify and stop transactions routed through correspondent accou… - Extra Due Diligence on Foreign Correspondents: cost, medium. FinCEN proposes that U.S. financial institutions apply special due diligence to their foreign correspondent accounts to guard against those accounts being used to process transactions involving MBaer. Banks would need to apply enhanced, MBaer-focused AML/CFT checks to correspondent relationships. ## Related documents - [2026-20430](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20430): Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets; Withdrawal, 2026-10-06 - [2026-20429](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20429): Proposal of Special Measure Regarding Convertible Virtual Currency Mixing, as a Class of Transactions of Primary Money Laundering Concern;…, 2026-10-06 - [2026-16576](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16576): Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision, 2026-08-14 - [2025-05199](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-05199): Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension, 2025-03-26 - [2026-20371](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20371): Proposal of Special Measure Prohibiting the Transmittal of Funds Regarding Transactions Involving the A7 Network's Sub-Agents, 2026-10-05 - [2026-18194](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18194): Geographic Targeting Order Imposing Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements on Certain Money Services Businesses Along the Southwest Border, 2026-09-04 ## Sources - [2026-04033 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/02/2026-04033/proposal-of-special-measure-regarding-mbaer-merchant-bank-ag-as-a-financial-institution-operating) - [2026-04033 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-03-02/pdf/2026-04033.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-04029, Amendment of Class E5 Airspace Over Honesdale, PA](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04029) - [Next: 2026-04084, Improving Transparency Into Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure; Extension…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04084) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04033 (as of 2026-06-11).