Kanton Zug put pressure on the federal government because of the oligarch hunt

The scene on television involuntarily made Heinz Tännler (62) famous: “I don’t have to investigate and investigate like a detective,” said Zug’s financial director in an SRF program “Reporter” at the end of March.

There was talk of freezing Russian assets due to international sanctions. Shortly before, the Federal Council had decided to follow the measures – and a particularly large number of Russian funds were suspected in Zug, as the canton’s low-tax policy had attracted the super-rich and commodity groups for decades.

Tännler was not only passive in implementing the sanctions against Russia. As the “Tages-Anzeiger” published this week, he even helped sanctioned fertilizer company Eurochem find a bank that is still willing to make payments for the company.

Research by SonntagsBlick now shows that finance director Tännler was not the only one in the Zug government who was concerned about the well-being of Russian companies and business people. In the days following the outbreak of the war, sanctions against Russia were a constant topic in the governing council. This is evident from the minutes of the government council that SonntagsBlick has received, based on the government’s principle of openness.

No “Causa Zug”

The government council decided that they wanted to “communicate more proactively” and “not leave the field to others” so that there was no “Causa Zug”: “The canton should not just let itself be guided by the federal government, especially what the federal government imposed , drastic sanctions”, the minutes of the March 1 meeting read.

In the weeks and months that followed, the war and its consequences for the canton of Zug were discussed repeatedly. Among other things, blocked bank accounts or settlement requests from Russian nationals were discussed.

Initial anger at the federal government did not abate. On August 23, the government council finally declared itself in favor of “a committed approach by the federal government” – at the request of finance director Tännler.

An armored letter was sent a week later. Recipients: Federal President Ignazio Cassis (61) and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin (63).

The letter, which SonntagsBlick could claim under the Public Access Act, has it all. The government council emphasizes in the introduction that the canton of Zug “expressly and fully” supports the adoption of the sanctions packages. But then there is concentrated criticism of the implementation. The central points:

• In Switzerland nobody knows why someone is on the sanction list and what the underlying sources were for this decision.
• The process of when a sanctioned individual or company is listed or delisted is “not transparent, if any.”
• The Seco is “understaffed” and often not reachable by phone.

Little concrete from the Federal Council

For these reasons, the Zug government council calls on the Federal Council to work on a “quick and significant improvement of processes” in the implementation of the embargo law: “This is the only way to implement a sanctions policy worthy.” our rule of law.” In addition, the central Swiss demanded an oral debate, so that “individual case studies from the field” could also be discussed.

Bern’s answer came from Seco – and it’s full of sentences. Designated Director Helene Budliger Artieda, 57, stressed that her “questions about the economic effects of sanctions” are very important to her. At the same time, she stressed that the rule of law was “fully guaranteed” in the implementation of the sanctions. The Seco director only admitted that there were concrete problems with regard to the long processing time of applications: “Appropriate measures have already been taken, both in terms of personnel and organisation.”

A high-level meeting followed on 27 September: with Economy Minister Guy Parmelin. Landammann Martin Pfister (59), economic director Silvia Thalmann-Gut (61) from Zug were present – ​​and of course financial director Tännler.

The participants did not want to divulge what was discussed during the meeting. “We cannot comment on the content of the meeting,” the Seco writes.

The canton of Zug is also silent on the details, but evaluates the meeting positively: “Most outstanding points can be clarified. The matter has been settled for the canton of Zug,” said the government council.

New confidence

When asked by SonntagsBlick, CFO Tännler explains this sudden change of mind as follows: “Since we wrote the letter, a lot has happened at Seco. The staff has been expanded and with that the processes have also been accelerated. » The situation is no longer the same as at the end of August.

But what about the point of criticism that no one in Switzerland knows why someone ends up on the sanctions list? And that the process of listing or delisting a sanctioned individual or company “is not transparent, if it exists at all”? Tännler no longer wants to comment on these references to constitutional processes.

In any case, the people of Zug now seem remarkably determined to keep the ball flat. You don’t want to go public anymore.

That was already the main credo at the end of August when the angry letter to the Bundesrat was drafted: the accompanying minutes of the government council explicitly state that the Zug members of the Bundesassembly should not receive a copy of the letter.

The reason: the significant chance of escalation.