Paolo Bernasconi

Rechtsanwalt Paolo Bernasconi hat als Staatsanwalt Ermittlungen und Prozesse im Zusammenhang mit den größten Finanzskandalen in der Schweiz und auf internationaler Ebene geleitet. Er war Berater von Familien und Unternehmen in komplexen Rechtsstreitigkeiten und im Bereich des globalen Risikomanagements. Er gehört zu den Hauptarchitekten der Schweizer Geldwäschereigesetzgebung. Er ist international für seine Kompetenz im Kampf gegen Korruption und Wirtschaftskriminalität anerkannt, vereint akademische und berufliche Erfahrung und ist eine Referenz für Institutionen und Akteure.

Fähigkeiten

Internationales Straf- und Wirtschaftsrecht, Erbschaften und Nachlassplanung, Zwangsvollstreckungen und Insolvenzen, Verträge und Vereinbarungen, Gesellschafts- und Handelsrecht, Personen- und Familienrecht, Steuerrecht, Medienrecht, Prozessführung, Vermögensrückgewinnung und -sperrung, Rechtsrisikoanalyse, Aus- und Weiterbildung

Sprachen

Italienisch, Deutsch, Französisch, Englisch

Berufserfahrung

1962 – 1966
Law studies and bachelor at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg

‍1966 – 1968
Attorney-at-law and notary trainee in Lugano

‍1968
Admission to the Ticino Bar and as a Notary Public in Lugano

‍1969 – 1985
State Attorney of the South District of Switzerland (Lugano and Chiasso)

‍1982, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001
Consultant to the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (1982, 1995, 1999), to the OECD in Paris (1996) and to the EU in Bruxelles (2001)

‍1984 – 2004
Lecturer on Penal Business Law at the University of St. Gallen (professor since 1999)

‍1986 – 2001
Lecturer on Penal Business Law at the University of Zurich

As from 1986
Attorney-at-law and Notary Public with the Law Firm Bernasconi Martinelli Alippi & Partners (formerly Peter, Bernasconi & Partners, formerly Sganzini Bernasconi Peter & Gaggini) in Lugano (Switzerland)

‍1986
Member of Federal Consulting Committees for the revision of the Swiss Penal Code concerning the Anti-Money Laundering penal rules

‍1987 – 1989
Guest Professor on International Tax Law at the University of Genova (Italy)

As from 1990
Professor invited at the Centro Studi Villa Negroni in Lugano-Vezia (formerly Centro Studi Bancari), as from 2012 as responsible person for Area "Law"

‍1990, 1992
Consultant to the Division of the United Nations Branch on Crime Prevention and Control, Vienna

As from 1991
Member of Federal Consulting Committees for the Anti-Money Laundering penal rules as well as for the Guidelines on Money Laundering of the Swiss Banking Supervisory Authority, for the Federal Law on Stock Exchange, for the Federal Law on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters

‍1996 – 2002
Guest Professor on International Tax Law at the University of Bocconi/Milan (Italy)

‍1997 – 2008
Lecturer for the Master of Business Law (MBL) Program at the University of Zurich

‍1998 – 2009
Professor invited at the Executive Master in Tax Law of the Professional High School of Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI), Lugano, for conventions and as co-referee for the presentation of the diploma thesis

‍1999 – 2005
Lecturer for the Master of Business Law (MBL) Program at the University of Geneva 

2001
Vice-President of the Permanent Advisory Council of the Swiss Federal Authority against Money Laundering

‍2002
Appointed as an expert ad personam within the Steering Committee of the European Conference on the Fight against Financial Crime

‍2005 – 2008
Professor on Penal Business Law at the Insubria University of Como (Italy)

‍As from 2006
Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Swiss Association of Asset Managers (SAAM), Zurich

2008 – 2013
Appointed by the Swiss Bankers Association as Member of the Supervisory board concerning the Agreement on the Swiss banks’ code of conduct with regard to the exercise of due diligence (CDB 08)

As from 2010
Member of the WEF Global Agenda Councils

‍April 2013
Doctor honoris causa degree conferred by the University of Zurich for his long-time fight against the economic crime, in particular against money laundering, as well as for his scientific contribution to the development of the business crime law (Doctor honoris causa degree)

‍2014 – 2019
Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the non-profit Association "Ethics and Compliance Switzerland (ECS)", with seat in Berne (www.ethics-compliance.ch)

As from 2014
Full Member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Limited / STEP 

As from 2017
Honorary Member of the Swiss Experts in Economic Crime Investigation (SEECI/ASECE/SEBWK)

‍2009 – 2025
Partner at the Law Firm Bernasconi Martinelli Alippi & Partners, Lugano (Switzerland)

‍Since October 2025
Partner at Aequitas, Law and Notary Firm, Lugano

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