New ordinance on the freezing of assets in the context of Venezuela of 5 January 2026
On 5 January 2026, the Federal Council adopted a new ordinance on the freezing of assets in the context of Venezuela (RS 196.127.85) based on Article 3 of the Federal Act on the Freezing and Restitution of Illicit Assets held by Foreign Politically Exposed Persons (FIAA; RS 196.1). The ordinance comes into force on 5 January 2026 at 11 a.m. The ordinance provides for the immediate freezing of all assets of any kind of the 37 persons mentioned in its annex. The ordinance can be consulted in German, French and Italian in the Classified Compilation of Federal Law.
Persons and institutions who hold or manage in Switzerland assets of persons affected by an asset freeze within the meaning of Article 3, or have knowledge of such assets, must immediately freeze and report such assets to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) in accordance with the provisions of the FIAA. Persons and institutions include, among others, financial intermediaries.
