A Russian army soldier fires an anti-tank missile system toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service
This was viewed as a welcome sign of appreciation in Bern—especially after the criticism of the G7 ambassadors over Switzerland’s slow pace freezing Russian assets.
“Switzerland has been added by the EU to the list of partner countries for sanctions against Russia,” wrote Swiss government spokesman André Simonazzi on Twitter External linklate Friday. “The Federal Council welcomes this decision as a further sign of the excellent cooperation in this area.”
The Alpine nation was formally added on June 23 to the list of countries that set export control measures that are largely equivalent to those adopted by the EU.
Brussels had contacted Bern and offered to discuss its inclusion on the list of partner countries. The Federal Council accepted after discussing the matter on May 24.
Russian oligarchs and assets
Many Russian oligarchs have homes or assets in Switzerland, which has a long history of financial secrecy and is also an important hub for global commodity trading.
But the war in Ukraine has shone a light on shortcomings of Swiss legislation that complicate efforts to find and freeze the assets of Russian individuals or entities sanctioned by the West.
Switzerland, for example, lacks a centralised public beneficial ownership register, which anti-money laundering experts consider an essential tool to unveil corporate structures that can be exploited to launder the proceeds of corruption, hide conflicts of interests and skirt sanctions.
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The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
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The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
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Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
Swiss government seat: Ritter and Pfister nominated to succeed Amherd
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Markus Ritter from St Gallen and Martin Pfister from Zug were officially nominated by the Centre Party on Friday to succeed Defence Minister Viola Amherd.
Top Swiss court rejects Russian request for administrative tax assistance
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There is currently no reason to transmit banking information to the Russian Federation, the Swiss Federal Court has ruled.
After strike by radiologists, doctors demonstrate in Bern
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Following a strike by radiology technicians in Fribourg, doctors, vets, dentists and chiropractors expressed their frustration on Friday outside parliament in the Swiss capital.
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Investigating Swiss traders’ links to murky world of Russian oil
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Swiss-based traders in the oil market have come under scrutiny as Western nations try to starve Moscow of resources to wage war on Ukraine.
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Swiss media have published details of a letter by G7 ambassadors in Bern raising concerns about the implementation of Russian sanctions.
Switzerland adopts tenth sanctions package against Russia
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The government is implementing additional European Union sanctions against Russia but wants to limit any unintended consequences on Swiss businesses.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.