Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority flags amendment to Switzerland's Ukraine sanctions annex requiring asset freezes and SECO reporting

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has published a notice that the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research amended Annex 8 of the ordinance on measures related to the situation in Ukraine. The changes were published on the department's website and take effect at 23:00. For financial intermediaries, the update means they must apply the prohibitions in the ordinance, freeze the assets of sanctioned persons and report affected business relationships to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. The notice also makes clear that reporting to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs does not replace anti-money laundering obligations. Financial intermediaries must still carry out additional checks where there are grounds for suspicion under Article 6 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and, if those concerns cannot be resolved, must immediately file a report with the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland under Article 9.