In Swiss anti-money laundering law, the controlling person (Kontrollinhaber) is the beneficial owner of an operating legal entity or partnership. The concept does not answer who owns particular assets, but who controls the business. That distinction is the core of the concept, and practice often blurs it.
The three-step test
The determination follows a cascade. First: which natural persons hold, directly or indirectly, alone or acting in concert with third parties, at least 25 percent of the capital or votes? If there is no such person or they cannot be identified, the second question is who controls the company in another way, for example through voting agreements, veto rights or financing. If that still yields no one, the managing person is deemed the controlling person. The third step is a fallback, not a convenient way out.
Counting indirect holdings
The 25 percent threshold applies through ownership chains. A person holding 60 percent of a holding company that in turn holds 50 percent of the operating company controls the latter through the majority along the chain. In layered structures with minority stakes on several levels, it must be documented carefully how the result was reached. A look-through view of the structure is the basis for this.
Form A and domiciliary companies
For a domiciliary company that conducts no operating business, the question is not the controlling person but the beneficial owner of the assets, recorded on Form A. For operating companies the controlling person is recorded on Form K. Using the wrong form collects the right information for the wrong question.
Relation to the TJPG
The TJPG, in force since October 2026, uses very similar logic for its reporting obligation: control over at least 25 percent of capital or votes or by other means, and as a fallback the most senior member of the executive body. For companies, this means the information given to the bank and the register report should match. Discrepancies become visible as soon as financial intermediaries use the register in their own due diligence.
What belongs in the file
Name, date of birth, nationality and residential address of the controlling person; the reasoning behind the finding, with the ownership chain or means of control; the date of the finding and its source. When ownership changes, the determination must be repeated, which requires a defined trigger rather than waiting for the next periodic review.