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Switzerland will not apply EU anti-Russian sanctions against its subsidiaries
Swiss law already allows for prosecution of subsidiaries headquartered in the country, so the government has decided not to accept part of the EU's 14th sanctions package "in their current form." Moscow considers the sanctions illegal
Switzerland has decided not to fully accept the latest, 14th package of EU sanctions against Russia. This is due to the fact that Switzerland's own legislation already allows for the prosecution of Swiss subsidiaries. This was stated in a statement by the federal government. . The provisions of the 14th package allow citizens and companies of EU countries to potentially confiscate assets of Russian companies in the European Union.
“Under current sanctions legislation, Switzerland already has the ability to pursue companies that evade sanctions through their subsidiaries and actively pursues this,” the document says.
The government emphasized that several similar cases are already being investigated in the country, one of which has been transferred to the Swiss Attorney General.
For this reason, the Federal Council (government) decided not to accept the European Union (EU) measures "in their current form", as stated in a cabinet statement: However, the Swiss Ministry of Economic Affairs said that it would monitor the situation.
The federal parliament's decision was criticized by the Swiss Social Democratic Party, the country's second-largest political force made up of government-aligned lawmakers. Party chairman Cedric Wermuth said: "The decision taken by the federal parliament today is a huge step backwards."
As Bloomberg notes, decisions in the federal parliament are often made by consensus of seven legislators, regardless of party affiliation.
On October 16, Switzerland added 61 companies to its sanctions list against Russia. The country once again supported the measures taken within the framework of the 14th package of restrictive measures of the European Union. Bern emphasized that about half of the companies subject to sanctions "are located in third countries and are associated with the Russian military complex."
The new package of restrictions also includes a ban on banks using some specialized messaging systems that replace SWIFT for payment transactions. The government has also contractually obligated companies to prohibit the re-export of intellectual property and trade secrets to Russia.
In the energy sector, restrictions affected liquefied natural gas (LNG). Switzerland banned Russia from investing in or supplying supplies for LNG projects under construction. From March 2025, the provision of services related to the supply of Russian LNG will be prohibited.
The European Union (EU) adopted the 14th package of sanctions against Russia at the end of June. Switzerland partially joined in at the end of August.