Switzerland freezes CHF687m linked to Maduro’s Venezuelan circle

At the beginning of the year, the Federal Council froze all of Nicolás Maduro's Swiss assets Keystone

Swiss banks are holding CHF687 million in frozen assets originating from Venezuela. These assets belong to individuals associated with the ousted president, Nicolás Maduro.

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The online portal tippinpoint was the first to report on these assets. The Swiss government confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency that all these funds are frozen.

+ What it means for Switzerland to freeze Maduro assets

Two-thirds of these funds had already been frozen in Switzerland under the Venezuelan ordinance as part of criminal proceedings, a Federal Office for Foreign Affairs spokesperson stated. Now, the remaining CHF239 million has also been frozen. This means that the entire amount reported to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) is now blocked.

The Federal Council aims to ensure that no funds can flow from Maduro and his associates. The assets reported to the anti-money laundering agency relate to 21 of the 37 individuals listed in the Venezuela Ordinance.

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At the beginning of January, the Federal Council announced that no members of the current government were affected by the precautionary freeze.

The legal basis for the precautionary freezing of the funds is the Federal Act on the Freezing and Restitution of Illegally Acquired Assets of Foreign Politically Exposed Persons.

Should it turn out that funds were acquired illegally, Switzerland intends to make them available to the people of Venezuela, the foreign ministry announced at the beginning of the year.

Venezuelan President Maduro was arrested in early January during a United States military operation in the capital, Caracas, and taken to the US.

He is being tried in New York on charges of drug terrorism. Delcy Rodríguez assumed leadership of the country in Maduro’s place. Rodríguez had previously served as vice-president under Maduro.

Adapted from German by AI/mga

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