Enforcement in Switzerland: SECO, customs, prosecutors and courts

SECO as supervisory authority and prosecuting authority

Switzerland has no sanctions agency comparable to the American Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Ukraine Ordinance entrusts the supervision of its enforcement to SECO, which grants licences and exemptions, receives the reports of banks and other persons and maintains the lists. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS), whose Italian name is Ufficio federale della dogana e della sicurezza dei confini (UDSC), controls the goods that cross the border (Art. 31 and 31a of the ordinance).¹ Criminal enforcement follows the same allocation. Under Article 14 paragraph 1 EmbA, the Federal Act of 22 March 1974 on Administrative Criminal Law (ACLA) applies to the prosecution of offences against the Embargo Act.² The administrative unit responsible for the subject matter, which is SECO, therefore investigates, issues penalty notices and conducts the proceedings. Only if the person concerned requests a judicial decision does the case go to a court.³

This model works well for the cases for which it was designed: the exporter who ships a machine without a licence, the importer who declares a Russian product incorrectly, the bank that reports a frozen account late. It is less suited to complex cases involving foreign subsidiaries, layered ownership and shipments through third countries. The director of SECO, Helene Budliger Artieda, described the limitation candidly in March 2023: "We have no detectives, we have no police. I would not even have the competence to do that."⁴ The Embargo Act provides an answer for serious cases, discussed below, but its use has remained exceptional.

The criminal provisions of the Embargo Act

The Embargo Act distinguishes misdemeanours from contraventions. Under Article 9, anyone who wilfully violates a provision of an ordinance that is declared punishable "is liable to a term of imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of a maximum of 500,000 Swiss francs". In serious cases the penalty is imprisonment of up to five years, which may be combined with a fine of up to CHF 1 million. Negligent offences are punishable by imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of up to CHF 100,000.⁵ Article 10 punishes as contraventions, with a fine of up to CHF 100,000, the refusal to provide information or documents or to permit access to business premises and the provision of false information. It also covers violations of provisions that an ordinance declares punishable as contraventions. Attempt and complicity are punishable, negligent contraventions carry a fine of up to CHF 40,000, and prosecution is time-barred after five years.⁶ Article 32 of the Ukraine Ordinance designates the provisions whose violation falls under Articles 9 and 10 EmbA.⁷

Three consequences of these provisions deserve attention. First, a serious violation under Article 9 paragraph 2 EmbA carries a custodial sentence of more than three years and is therefore a felony within the meaning of Article 10 paragraph 2 of the Swiss Criminal Code. As a felony it can be a predicate offence for money laundering under Article 305 bis SCC. A bank or fiduciary that conceals the proceeds of a serious sanctions violation commits money laundering, and a financial intermediary that has reasonable grounds to suspect such proceeds must report to MROS (Chapter G.III).⁸ Second, administrative criminal law contains its own rules on the liability of businesses, which Article 12 EmbA declares applicable to offences committed in businesses. Where an offence is committed in the management of a business, the individuals who committed it are punishable, and the owner, employer or principal who wilfully or negligently fails, in breach of a legal duty, to prevent it is liable to the same penalties under Article 6 ACLA. Where the fine does not exceed CHF 5,000 and identifying the responsible individuals would require disproportionate investigations, the fine may be imposed on the company itself under Article 7 ACLA.⁹ Third, the Embargo Act provides that goods and assets subject to a compulsory measure are confiscated irrespective of whether a particular person is punishable, if their continued lawful use is not guaranteed. Confiscated items fall to the Confederation.¹⁰

Notes

1. Ukraine Ordinance, Art. 31 (enforcement and control) and 31a (customs procedures), table of contents (above). ↩
2. EmbA, Art. 14 para. 1, https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/en-de/9/94/946.231-14-17.html ("The Federal Act of 22 March 1974 on Administrative Criminal Law applies"); Federal Act of 22 March 1974 on Administrative Criminal Law (ACLA), SR 313.0. ↩
3. ACLA, Art. 64 (penalty notice), Art. 70 (penalty order) and Art. 72 (request for judicial assessment within ten days), https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-fr/3/31/313.0-64-69.html, https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-fr/3/31/313.0-70-75.html and https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-fr/3/31/313.0-72-77.html. ↩
4. SRF, "Russland-Sanktionen: Seco spürt Bagatellfälle statt dicke Fische auf", 23 March 2023, https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/russland-sanktionen-seco-spuert-bagatellfaelle-statt-dicke-fische-auf ("Wir haben keine Detektive, wir haben keine Polizei. Ich hätte gar nicht die Kompetenz, das zu tun"). ↩
5. EmbA, Art. 9 paras 1–3, https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-en/9/94/946.231-9-12.html. ↩
6. EmbA, Art. 10, https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/en-de/9/94/946.231-10-13.html. ↩
7. Ukraine Ordinance, Art. 32 (criminal provisions), table of contents (above). ↩
8. Swiss Criminal Code of 21 December 1937 (SCC), SR 311.0, Art. 10 para. 2 ("Felonies are offences that carry a custodial sentence of more than three years"), https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/en-de/3/31/311.0-10-13.html; AMLA, Art. 9 para. 1 lit. a (report where assets are connected to an offence under Art. 305 bis SCC or are "the proceeds of a felony"), https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/en-de/9/95/955.0-9-15.html. ↩
9. EmbA, Art. 12, https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/en-de/9/94/946.231-12-15.html; ACLA, Art. 6 paras 1–3 and Art. 7 para. 1 (fine of up to CHF 5,000 on the legal person where the investigation would be disproportionate), https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-fr/3/31/313.0-6-9.html and https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/de-fr/3/31/313.0-7-10.html. ↩
10. EmbA, Art. 13, https://www.droit-bilingue.ch/en-de/9/94/946.231-13-16.html ("irrespective of criminal liability if their continued lawful use is not guaranteed"). ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.