Compliance
Swiss Court Confirms Freeze Order On Syrian Billionaire's Assets - Report
The man's assets in the country will remain frozen because of the decision, a report said.
Financial assets of Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf, who is a
cousin of President Bashar al-Assad, that are invested in
Switzerland will stay frozen after the Federal Court reportedly
rejected his appeal against the matter.
The highest court in the Alpine state late last week confirmed an
earlier decision by the Federal Administrative Court in June 2015
rejecting Makhlouf’s appeal to unblock a money in his Swiss
accounts, the Swissinfo news site said. The size of the
money involved is not known.
The Federal Court said that since it had been established with
the “highest probability that Makhlouf is close to the Syrian
government and that there is a risk of financial support to the
Syrian government, it is necessary to prevent sanctions imposed
by Switzerland's trading partners being circumvented on Swiss
territory".
The report said that since May 2011, Makhlouf has featured on a
Swiss Federal Council sanctions list concerning Syria. It states
that the businessman provides "financing" and "support" to
Assad’s regime.
