Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings over 23 suspected cases of violations of sanctions regime against Russia and Belarus, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said
ZURICH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2023) Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings over 23 suspected cases of violations of sanctions regime against Russia and Belarus, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.
"Twenty-one criminal proceedings in connection with the decision on Ukraine, two criminal proceedings for Belarus," a SECO spokesperson told RIA Novosti.
They also said that the customs and border security agency had flagged nearly 100 suspicious cases since February 2022, most of them related to trade in sanctioned goods, including luxury items.
As of March 1, nine cases have been dropped and a fine has been issued in relation to another one. Some 60 cases are still being analyzed.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik in February that Switzerland had lost its neutral status after it followed other Western countries in imposing economic sanctions on Russia. Switzerland has also frozen over $8 billion in Russian assets.
