Switzerland Declines to Join Task Force Tackling Russian Oligarch Finances in 2024

Switzerland has made the decision to not participate in the global task force aimed at tracing the financial activities of Russian oligarchs.

Task Force Tackling Russian Oligarch Finances

On Wednesday, the National Council of the Swiss parliament voted 101 to 80 against joining the REPO Task Force, also known as the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs Task Force.

The government is opposed to the proposal, which was proposed by members of the Green Party.

According to the conservative parties of Switzerland, the decision would not align with the nation’s long-standing stance of neutrality in regards to foreign affairs.

According to the argument, Switzerland provided its services as a bridge between nations that lack diplomatic ties, such as Iran and the U.S.

According to Hans-Peter Portmann, a member of the Free Democrats (FDP), participating in a task force could pose challenges to the effectiveness of “good offices.”

According to him, we have no intention of being politically engaged within this organization.

The offer for the Swiss government to join the task force from the G7 nations was declined a year ago.

A collaborative effort between the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Australia is in place to locate Russian oligarch funds and prevent the evasion of economic sanctions.

Over two years ago, the Russian attack on Ukraine resulted in the blocking of approximately 8 billion Swiss francs (equivalent to 8.7 billion dollars) worth of Russian assets in Switzerland.

There is a suspicion among other governments that a large amount of Russian funds were being kept in Switzerland, given the country’s well-known status as a global financial center.

REPO Task Force

On 29 June 2022, the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force took stock of its successes during the first 100 days in operation. Accordingly, it managed to block or freeze more than $30 billion worth of sanctioned Russians’ assets, freeze or seize sanctioned persons’ high-value goods, and heavily restrict sanctioned Russians’ access to the international financial system.

The REPO Task Force was launched on 17 March 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and represents a joint effort between the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the European Commission. The participants work together to take all available legal steps to find, restrain, freeze, seize, and, where appropriate, confiscate or forfeit the assets of those individuals and entities that have been sanctioned in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Source : realnewsmagazine