On February 24, 2022, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. In response, Switzerland – in line with the EU – imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russians. If these people have assets in this country, they have been frozen for months.
But not all Russians on the sanctions list are willing to accept it. Some vehemently deny that Vladimir Putin (70) belongs to the circle of power and therefore demand removal from the list of sanctions.
Multiple delisting requests sent
To achieve this, those affected can submit a so-called delisting request to the federal government. As the responsible economics department (WBF) confirmed to SonntagsBlick, this has happened on several occasions. “Five applications have been submitted,” said a spokesperson.
The federal government is not revealing who the victims are. Authorities are also silent about the current situation. The mantra is “We cannot comment on individual procedures”.
In theory, the procedure works like this: the EAER examines the submitted applications and makes a controversial decision – in the end, the entire Federal Council decides to remove it from a possible list. “So the rule of law is fully protected,” emphasizes those responsible.
Sanctioned Russians have been waiting in some cases since spring
Sanctioned Russians, some of whom filed their applications in the spring, see the situation differently. His lawyers complain that they have been waiting for a decision from the EAER and the Federal Council for months and therefore cannot take any legal action against the sanctions.
One of those affected is Alexander Pumpyansky, 35, a Swiss-Russian dual national from Geneva. His father, Dmitry Pumpyansky, 58, is on the federal sanctions list for being a billionaire Russian steel entrepreneur.
Little Pumpyansky, whose three children were born and raised in Switzerland, pointed out to the Sunday newspaper in the summer that he could no longer live here because of the sanctions. “But I am not an oligarch,” he complained.
Pumpyansky applied in March
Whether Pumpyansky was actually wrongly included in the sanctions list cannot be judged from afar. However, it is certainly difficult: He submitted his delisting request at the end of March and is still awaiting a response from Bern.
“This is highly controversial from a constitutional law point of view,” says FDP National Assembly Member Hans-Peter Portmann (59, ZH). The Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission considers it right for the Western world to unite against the Russian aggressor. It also sees sanctions against individuals as a tried and tested method. But Portmann emphasizes: “Anyone on the sanctions list must have a clear justification and have the opportunity to take legal action against the sanctions.”
Unacceptable criteria?
According to Portmann, this is currently not the case: “Initially, the federal government could not even provide documentation and information on the basis on which the sanctions were imposed.” WBF had to first request the relevant files from the EU. But in some cases he was aware of, these were very poor. Portmann: “The EU relied on articles in any online or tabloid media, not verified information from secret services.” Given the consequences of the sanctions, this was absolutely unacceptable.
The EAER of Bundestag Guy Parmelin (62) does not want to comment on the content of the EU dossier. The office stresses, however, that Swiss authorities “analyzes and verifies” this information and is also conducting its own investigations. “On this basis, the WBF or the Federal Council decides to delist the claims,” said a spokesperson.
Those responsible also emphasize that Switzerland has taken “fully autonomous” decisions regarding the delisting of claims and the arrangements on the sanctions list.
Switzerland excluded
Foreign politician Portmann doubts this. He complains that Switzerland was completely excluded from the creation of the sanctions list: “Following my intervention, the Federal Council at the end of August asked the EU whether Switzerland could be present at least as an observer while the adjustments to the sanctions were being discussed. However, the EU refused to do so.”
Therefore, the Confederation is still learning how the sanctions list is drawn up by posting it on the EU website, and then has 48 hours to make corrections. “It is not worthy of a sovereign state,” said Portmann.
“No Automatism”
The WBF is defending itself against this reading. The Office confirms that Switzerland will have access to the EU’s final decisions only after they have been formally published. However, participation in EU sanctions is neither politically nor legally obligatory. A spokesperson stresses: “There is no automatism in this context, and there is absolutely no time limit of 48 hours.”
In practice, a different picture emerges. For example, on March 16, EAER announced that 197 people are currently subject to financial and travel sanctions, and with this regulation, Switzerland follows the changes made by the EU, which Brussels published on March 15. Therefore, the WBF needed less than 24 hours to seriously check whether the 197 sanctioned people were indeed close to the Kremlin.
An impressive achievement.