Sanctions 2025

SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Philippe Reich, Meera Rolaz, Kaspar Projer, Samantha Salsench and Anna Zellweger, Baker McKenzie Switzerland AG

2.2.5 Mitigation Swiss sanctions laws do not expressly acknowledge the voluntary self-disclosure of sanctions violations to SECO. Also, there is no case law available that gives an account of the effect of voluntary self-disclosures on penalties imposed by SECO, such as a discount or uplift. In practice and the experience of the authors over many years, however, voluntary self-disclosure is acknowledged by SECO and has been taken into account as a mitigating factor. Whether such a disclo - sure is warranted or not in a given case depends on many hard and soft factors which should be assessed carefully together with an experienced Swiss sanc - tions expert. 2.2.6 “Strict Liability” The principle of “strict liability” is not (yet) acknowl - edged under Swiss sanctions. Rather, and as indi - cated in 2.2.2 Breaching Sanctions , the EmbA differs between intentional violations on the one hand and violations caused by negligence on the other hand. According to Article 2 EmbA it is possible to obtain a licence derogation from specific sanctions regula - tions to support humanitarian activities or to safe - guard Swiss interests. Such derogation grounds are regulated in various provisions in the ordinances of the Swiss sanctions regime, for instance in the Ukraine Ordinance, the Swiss Ordinance on Measures against Belarus or the Swiss Ordinance on Measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran. 2.3 Licensing 2.3.1 Derogation By way of example, Article 11a paragraph 1 of the Ukraine Ordinance prohibits the sale, supply, export, etc, to or for use in the Russian Federation of goods for the strengthening of the industry. Under certain circumstances, in case a licensing ground is present, SECO may grant an exemption – eg, if a certain activ - ity (such as the sale of restricted goods) is necessary for medical or pharmaceutical purposes with non- military end use (see Article 11a paragraph 4 of the Ukraine Ordinance). Furthermore, Article 30a of the Ukraine Ordinance provides for licensing grounds for the sale, supply, etc, of certain restricted goods until 31 December 2025,

where such sale, supply, etc, is strictly necessary for the divestment from Russia or the termination of busi- ness activities in Russia, provided certain cumulative conditions are fulfilled. In a similar vein, SECO may grant a licence for services or software banned under Article 28e of the Ukraine Ordinance until 31 Decem - ber 2025, provided certain cumulative conditions are fulfilled. Further details can be found in the section on “Seco’s Approach Towards Exit Licences” of the Swit - zerland Trends and Development chapter in this guide. 2.3.2 Provision of Legal Services The concept of a “general licence” is not acknowl - edged under Swiss sanctions. Instead, licences are granted on an individual basis only. For instance, Article 15 paragraph 5 let. b of the Ukraine Ordinance provides an exceptional licensing ground for payments from frozen accounts of desig - nated persons for the fulfilment of contracts – eg, in practice, for legal services. More specifically, Article 28e paragraph 1bis of the Ukraine Ordinance prohibits the direct or indirect provision of legal services to the Government of the Russian Federation, or to legal entities, companies or organisations established in the Russian Federa - tion, Crimea, Sevastopol or the areas of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts that are not controlled by the Ukrainian government. Accord - ing to Article 28e paragraphs 3 to 4 of the Ukraine Ordinance, SECO may grant a licence if certain con - ditions are met. However, this provision does not specifically address designated persons, but aims at services falling in the respective category (ie, they qualify as “legal services”) provided for the benefit of the Government of the Russian Federation and the aforementioned Russian entities. 2.4 Reporting There are numerous reporting obligations under Swiss sanctions laws. In principle, under the current SECO guidance (“SECO FAQ”, version of 22 May 2025, points 2.6.6 and 2.14.4), such reports must be submitted to SECO by the individuals or companies concerned (or their legal counsel based on a power of attorney), usually via electronic means such as file transfer or by email.

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