Graubünden prepares action plan against organised crime

Graubünden is preparing a dedicated plan against organised crime after a parliamentary intervention exposed weaknesses in cooperation over residence permits. The cantonal government announced the action plan and an external expert report on September 14, 2026, in a response to Centre Party lawmaker Sandra Maissen. The report will examine measures for public authorities, businesses and wider society.

The move follows the arrests of alleged members of the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta and a Balkan criminal group during a Europol operation at the end of February. Four of the seven people arrested lived in Roveredo, in the canton’s southern Val Mesolcina, and held valid B residence permits. One had previously been refused a permit in neighbouring Ticino. Maissen’s parliamentary question said Graubünden authorities did not learn about that decision for months.

The case placed a local administrative issue inside a wider European criminal investigation. It also focused attention on Val Mesolcina, a region that has long been regarded as vulnerable to money laundering. The planned report will give the canton an outside assessment while Graubünden works out how to implement Switzerland’s national strategy against organised crime.

Four of the seven people arrested in the Europol operation were living in Roveredo, making the small municipality the focal point of the parliamentary debate. The arrests involved alleged links to three criminal networks: the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta and a Balkan clan. The suspects had valid B residence permits in Graubünden.

The parliamentary motion raised concerns about information sharing between cantons. One suspect had previously been denied a residence permit in Ticino, yet Graubünden authorities were reportedly unaware of that decision for months. The episode has prompted scrutiny of how Swiss cantons exchange information when applicants move across internal borders.

Graubünden has eleven administrative districts, and the issue is especially sensitive in the Moesa region, which connects southern Switzerland with Italy and includes Roveredo. The government has not said that existing controls failed across the canton. It has argued that its information and monitoring mechanisms have proved effective, while acknowledging that further measures require examination under the new action plan.

The planned external report is expected to assess these procedures without replacing criminal investigations led by police and prosecutors.

Two of the four requests in the parliamentary motion have already been implemented, according to the Graubünden government. The canton has a binding procedure for checking immigration law procedures in other cantons. It also says the monitoring tools permitted by law are used systematically.

The rules differ according to nationality. For third-country nationals, authorities normally require a copy of a criminal record. For citizens of European Union and European Free Trade Association states, authorities seek that document when there are grounds for suspicion. The government has added a temporary measure in the Moesa region: every new EU or EFTA residence permit application must include a criminal record extract.

The government has asked parliament to recognise the completed requests as dealt with and defer the remaining two for further consideration. That position reflects a legal and administrative distinction between measures already available to the canton and proposals that require a broader policy review.

The planned action plan will therefore build on existing checks rather than start from zero. Its findings could determine whether temporary regional measures become permanent or whether controls are redesigned across Graubünden.

The next phase will focus on companies that can conceal ownership or move illicit funds. The parliamentary requests still under review include a cantonal monitoring plan for shell companies and businesses considered at high risk of money laundering. They also call for an assessment of whether Graubünden should establish a central reporting office.

The proposals widen the debate beyond immigration controls. Organised crime can use legitimate businesses, property transactions and complex ownership structures to disguise proceeds. The government’s planned expert report will examine what authorities can do, what information businesses can provide and where responsibilities should sit within the canton.

A central reporting office could create a single point for concerns raised by public bodies or private companies, although the source material does not specify what form such an office would take. Any new system would have to operate within Swiss federal law and coordinate with existing national institutions.

Graubünden also intends to play an active role in implementing the Swiss government’s national strategy against organised crime. The cantonal action plan is expected to connect that federal framework with local conditions in Val Mesolcina, Chur and other parts of the canton.

The action plan will test how effectively Switzerland’s federal system can respond to criminal networks that operate across cantonal and national borders. Graubünden’s immediate challenge is to connect immigration checks, police intelligence, business oversight and cooperation with other cantons without creating parallel systems that cannot share information.

The government has asked parliament to defer the two unresolved requests while the new plan is developed. That gives officials time to commission the external report and assess the proposed monitoring of shell companies, high-risk businesses and a possible central reporting office. It also leaves parliament with a future decision on whether the recommendations should become binding policy.

For residents, the initial changes are most visible in the Moesa region, where EU and EFTA applicants must temporarily provide criminal record extracts for new permit applications. For businesses, the coming review could bring closer scrutiny of ownership structures and money laundering risks. For cantonal authorities, the Roveredo arrests have highlighted the cost of delayed information exchange.

Graubünden’s response will now be measured through implementation: the quality of the expert report, the coordination with federal authorities and the clarity of any new obligations placed on public bodies and companies.