A Swiss examining magistrate has the right to conduct a search of a bank within the context of a criminal case. The search must be justified by accurate and objectively founded evidence (i.e. there has to be proof) and it must be conducted with precision.

If the public attorney fears that the investigation could lead the suspect to withdraw his or her holdings, the examining magistrate can conduct a surprise search or order the bank to freeze the suspect's accounts. Only Swiss magistrates and, in the case of an administrative inquiry, certain Swiss federal civil servants can question a banker.

During the interrogation, the banker is asked whether the person in question, accused or not, has an account, a safe or power of attorney with the establishment. In practice, the judges send out a circular to all the banks in the country, asking them whether a given person has an account with them. Once the accounts are located, the judge can then have them frozen by criminal court order.

Other pages of interest:

What is money laundering? Measures used to combat money laundering at an international level Measures used for the fight against money laundering