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Swiss court rejects appeal to release funds linked to former Ukraine regime

Account freezes on Ukraine imposed by the Federal Council remain in place
Account freezes on Ukraine imposed by the Federal Council remain in place Keystone-SDA

Switzerland will continue to block the assets of individuals with political connections to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, after the Federal Supreme Court rejected three appeals.

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The Federal Council ordered the measures in 2022 and 2023 based on laws regulating illicitly acquired assets of foreign Politically Exposed Persons.

This means that the assets cannot be withdrawn before a decision is made on their confiscation. This was stated by the Federal Supreme Court in the judgements published on Friday.

+ Why won’t Switzerland use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine?

The Federal Administrative Court dismissed appeals against the account freezes in 2024. The appellants were also unsuccessful before the Federal Supreme Court because the requirements for blocking were met.

In particular, it can be assumed that the Ukrainian authorities are not in a position to fulfil the requirements for mutual legal assistance proceedings in criminal matters in the cases under review.

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Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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