LEGAL UPDATE AUGUST 2024

the Swiss Supreme Court has laid down two central principles regarding attorney-client privilege:
Principle 1: The internal investigation report drawn up by an external lawyer, as well as its enclosures, are generally protected by attorney-client privilege.
→ An exception to this rule is where a lawyer is carrying out tasks that are required by law to be carried out by regulated entities in order to combat money laundering.
→ The fact of voluntarily sending the internal investigation report to a third party, including FINMA, does not constitute a waiver of confidentiality.
Principle 2: A third party may be required to hand over to the criminal prosecution authorities the report and its enclosures that have been voluntarily handed over to it, unless the third party has its own grounds for refusal (e.g. art. 40 FINMA Act).

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