US, Switzerland to share intelligence on sanctions violators in new enforcement deal
The United States and Switzerland have agreed to exchange information on sanctions violators and establish coordinated enforcement mechanisms, signing a formal Memorandum of Understanding that creates information-sharing channels between their respective sanctions authorities.
The agreement, signed by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (‘SECO’), enables both sides to coordinate monitoring and enforcement activities against shared targets while establishing safeguards to protect confidential data in accordance with each country’s domestic laws.
Under the agreement, both agencies will establish primary points of contact called ‘Coordinators’ who will manage information exchange and lead action on issues arising from the MOU, with provisions requiring prior approval before disclosing exchanged information to third parties.
The document outlines OFAC’s role in administering sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals, while noting SECO enforces sanctions ‘that have been decided by the UN, the OSCE or Switzerland’s most important trading partners’.
The agreement does not create legally binding rights and obligations and allows either party to terminate with 30 days’ notice.
Switzerland, a key global financial centre, has increasingly aligned its sanctions regime with Western allies in recent years, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when it broke with its traditional neutrality to adopt EU sanctions against Moscow.
