On 18 May 2011, based on the Embargo Act, Switzerland joined the European Union (EU) in imposing sanctions against Syria in response to the violent repression of the population by Syrian armed and security forces. The sanctions include asset freezing measures. In Switzerland, assets worth around CHF 99 million have been frozen, about two thirds of which are linked to members of the former Assad government and their entourage.
The Federal Council is now imposing an additional freezing measure on these assets, which may have been acquired unlawfully, to ensure that they remain frozen regardless of sanctions-related developments. This decision should also make it possible to freeze any illicitly acquired assets of five other individuals associated with the former Syrian government. These measures are based on a freezing ordinance issued in accordance with the Federal Act on the Freezing and the Restitution of Illicit Assets Held by Foreign Politically Exposed Persons (FIAA; SR 196.1).
With this ordinance, the Federal Council has taken all the measures needed to prevent the risk of Assad funds flowing out of Switzerland before they are subject to judicial scrutiny of their lawfulness. Should it emerge in future criminal and mutual assistance proceedings that the funds are in fact of illicit origin, Switzerland will seek to return them in a manner that will benefit the Syrian population.
The measures taken target individuals who held a public office under the autocratic regimes of Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez al-Assad or who had close family, personal or business ties with them. They cover all assets held by the individuals listed in the annex to the freezing ordinance, which shall enter into force today with immediate effect and remain valid for four years until further notice.
Further information:
Decree on the freezing of assets in the context of Syria (DE)
Address for enquiries:
For further information:
FDFA Communication
Tel. Press service +41 460 55 55
kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
