Switzerland again extends sanctions against Yanukovych
"At its meeting on December 20, 2017, the Federal Council decided to extend for one year the freeze on the assets of ousted presidents Ben Ali (Tunisia) and Yanukovych (Ukraine) and their entourages," the statement reads.
The report notes that at the beginning of 2011, the Federal Council reacted immediately to the uprisings taking place at the time in a number of Arab countries by ordering, as a preventive measure, a freeze on the assets in Switzerland of ousted presidents Ben Ali and Mubarak and of politically exposed persons among their entourages. It subsequently announced a similar freeze in the context of the crisis in Ukraine in February 2014.
The freeze on the Ukrainian assets (CHF 70 million), which was extended by one year on the basis of a Federal Council decision on December 9, 2016, expires in February 2018.
The Federal Council of Switzerland expects that "this one-year extension is expected to yield tangible progress in pending proceedings and increase the likelihood of the assets being returned to the country of origin."
