Switzerland is at the forefront of financial innovation in FinTech and blockchain. Swiss laws do not specifically regulate cryptoassets as a distinct asset class, but instead apply existing regulatory rules to them for their issuance, trading and holding. The ICO Guidelines of the Swiss financial regulator ("FINMA") provide detailed guidance on the regulatory framework for initial coin offerings ("ICOs") and security token offerings ("STOs") under Swiss law, including a checklist for negative clearance applications. FINMA reviews ICOs and STOs for compliance with anti-money laundering ("AML") regulations, investor rights and technical standards.

The metaverse market encounters a knowledgeable success among investors, because of the new commercial opportunities it offers, especially in e-commerce and gaming. In 2023, revenue in the metaverse market is projected to reach USD 54.95 billion. By the end of the decade, the metaverse is forecasted to reach about 700 million people worldwide.

Since 1st January 2023, the new Anti-Money Laundering Act requires financial intermediaries to comply with strict due diligence duties. The law will now explicitly provide for the verification of the identity of the beneficial owner and a general obligation to update client data. The objective is also to improve the transparency of associations exposed to an increased risk of terrorism financing.

Switzerland is adopting a new legislation to better protect its citizens' data. It improves the handling of personal data and grants new rights to Swiss citizens. This important legislative change is also accompanied by a number of obligations for companies, which must comply with it from 1 September 2023.

The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority is the competent entity in charge of regulating, supervising and overseeing Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Providers in Dubai. In this article, we will explore the Law and Regulations and explain how marketing VARA-related activities are regulated and enforced by this authority.

The UAE has issued Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses (“Law”) on 9 December 2022, imposing 9% rate on Taxable Income exceeding AED 375,000. Income below this threshold will be subject to a 0% rate of corporate tax.

On 1 January 2023, the new provisions on limited company law came into force. The foundation and capital provisions are now more flexible, the shareholders' rights have also been amended. The provisions have been adapted to the existing accounting law. There will be a transitional period of two years for the adaptation of the articles of association of existing companies to the new law. The articles of association of companies founded after 1 January 2023 must comply with the provisions of the new law as soon as they are incorporated.

Dominique Lecocq, Pierre-Antoine Keiser and Logaina Omer's publication on Distributed Ledger Technology ("DLT") touches on the technology's relation to the finance industry, its regulatory context and applicable laws in Switzerland and the Abu Dhabi Global Market ("ADGM").

The 9th edition of The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law Review includes a publication by lecocqassociate's Dominique Lecocq and Logaina Omer about the metaverse and the law. They touch on the legal status of the metaverse internationally, its applicable laws, jurisdictions and frameworks.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority announced several legislative changes made to the DFSA Rules with entry into force on 1 June 2022 and aiming to bring regulatory clarity for a new specialist fund in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), namely credit funds.

Mixing personal and professional life is a risk no one wants to take—especially business leaders whose public image carries significant responsibilities for the company—demonstrating a clear image speed up the process of establishing a business, closing deals, and inspiring workers, among others. However, after the boom of social networks, the rise of remote work and the evolution and transparency of search engines, separating these two aspects has become increasingly difficult.

Back in 2010, Online Reputation Management activities focused on basic Search Engine Optimisation techniques and copywriting to help gain positions within the Search Engine Result Pages. The Internet was completely different back at that time. Everything is changing now in the era of smartphones, smart speakers and the beginning of the Metaverse.

The introduction of the Financial Services Act (FinSA) on 1 January 2020 has brought significant changes in the law on collective investment schemes. The rules for the offering and distributing foreign collective investment schemes in Switzerland have been amended. This article aims to show which new regulations apply in the context of Switzerland's marketing of foreign funds.

On 15 September 2017, the Swiss Federal Council adopted a Message related to the global revision of the Federal Act on Data Protections of 19 June 1992 (FF 2017 6565 ff). According to this Message, the current FADP has been overtaken by technological and societal developments.

In Switzerland, the Revised Federal Data Protection Act (Revised FDPA), an update of the Swiss data protection act to align it with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), was approved in 2020 and it will enter into force during 2022 or 2023.

When undergoing an infringement of their intellectual property rights, it is paramount that the injured party can react quickly. Interim measures allow such a fast reaction in Switzerland. Such measures differ from ordinary proceedings in four aspects.

Structured products or otherwise called market-linked investment products are "pre-packaged structured finance investment strategy based on a single security, a basket of securities, options, indices, commodities, debt issuance or foreign currencies, and to a lesser extent, derivatives.

Esports commonly refer to competitive (pro and amateur) video gaming that is often coordinated by different leagues, ladders and tournaments, and where players customarily belong to teams or other “sporting” organisations which are sponsored by various business organisations. During recent years, esports (electronic sports) have become one of the most rapidly growing forms of new media driven by the growing provenance of (online) games and online broadcasting technologies.

The Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF) is an innovative fund product designed to enhance Switzerland's attractiveness and innovative capacity as a fund centre; lecocqassociate provides a full range of financial regulatory, corporate and commercial advice concerning the structuring and incorporation of entities.

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) issued new rules supplementing the Data Protection Regulations 2021 previously adopted at the beginning of 2021.

The creditor who intends to sequester the assets of a debtor in Switzerland who is not domiciled in that country will have to make sure that he fulfils the conditions set out in this article and that he obtains as much information as possible in this context, in order to convince the judge of the validity of his claim.‍

A comparative legal review to look into the set-up of cryptocurrency exchanges in renowned jurisdictions: Switzerland, Malta and Lithuania. The set-up of cryptocurrency exchanges is not complicated. We advise that in order to have a sustainable and long-lasting cryptocurrency exchange, it is important to consider the establishment of the exchange.

A PFP is an online (electronic) platform that allows private companies, such as start ups and small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) from early to pre IPO stage, to source financing from private and institutional investors to launch and scale their businesses.

The “Swissness” trademark legislative amendment came into force on 1 January 2017. It strengthens the “Swiss Made” designation and the Swiss stamp of quality. It aims to reinforce the value of Swiss products used for marketing products, and in turn, contributes to preventing any wrongful use of the Swiss indication of the source.

A financial consultancy or advisory firm comprises highly qualified financial advisors and consultants who help individuals and companies make strategic decisions to reach a certain financial goal. In the UAE there are mainly 3 jurisdictions to set up a financial consultancy or advisory, the ADGM, DIFC and Mainland UAE.

On 30 April 2019, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued Cabinet Decision No. 31 of 2019 concerning Economic Substance Requirements (Regulations) in response to the European Union Code of Conduct Group’s assessment of its tax framework...

The Federal Decree-Law No. 26/2020 On the amendment of certain provisions of Federal Law No. 2/2015 on Commercial Companies (the "Federal Decree-Law No. 26/2020") issued on 27 September 2020 now establishes as a default position the possibility of 100% foreign ownership in the United Arab Emirates

The Consultation Paper No. 138 of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”) it's relating to the regulation of security tokens (“Consultation Paper”). For a period of 30 days, the regulator will be collecting feedback from the public on its proposed regulatory framework around security tokens a specific form of crypto-asset/token.

An Asset Management Firm traditionally pools and invests funds from High Net Worth Individuals ("HNWI") and/or rich families through various types of assets which include equities, real estate, bonds and other classes of assets depending on the type of Asset Management Firm. Other than big individual portfolios, asset management firms also manage pension plans, hedge funds, and other pooled structures like mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.

Following international pressure from the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the "OECD"), Switzerland has amended its legislation to abolish certain types of shares.

Regulations are required by certain businesses and companies in the UAE to maintain an adequate economic presence relative to the activities they undertake. The Regulations also require an assessment be made in order to determine whether an Economic Substance Notification (“Notification”) and/or an Economic Substance Report (“Report”) should be filed for a specified financial year.

In the past, securitizations were being abandoned due to the financial crisis. However it is re-surfacing, attracting both investors and issuers alike due to the current global volatile environment. It is important to take note that these structures are complex and require professional and sound advice and overview of the entire securitization process...

Understand the conditions and exceptions of a Full Bank, a Light Bank, or a Non-Bank in Switzerland. These Financial Institutions are regulated by the principle law – the Financial Market Supervisory Act (“FINMASA”) which aids as an “umbrella law” for other regulations surrounding financial market supervision.

The purpose of this analysis is to compare the different limitation periods applicable to defamation offences in Switzerland, Malta and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the periods after which the entry of the offence in the criminal record can be removed.

Portfolio managers and Trustees are in the process of filing their licence applications with FINMA. In this context, several questions arise, particularly in relation to the organisation of the company. This article will examine under what conditions and in what form portfolio managers can delegate certain tasks to third parties...

This article provides a comparison between different free zones in the United Arab Emirates which allow an entity to conduct the activity of trading construction and steel equipment. It includes Visa and Immigration Costs, Registry and Incorporation Costs, Audit Requirement, Minimum share Capital.