The amount of Syrian assets blocked in Switzerland reaches around 99 million Swiss francs, the Swiss Ministry of the Economy told AFP on Wednesday, specifying that these are sums frozen under sanctions adopted in 2011. Switzerland then aligned itself with European Union sanctions against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
These are not assets belonging to the former leader overthrown on Sunday, after more than a decade of civil war, but assets linked to people and entities which were frozen following the adoption of these sanctions in 2011, specified the Ministry of the Economy, confirming information from the daily “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” (“NZZ”). The newspaper wondered whether hidden assets could be found in Switzerland. Because when “dictators fall, Switzerland and its financial center return as if by reflex to the forefront,” explains the “NZZ”. But “a hunt for Assad’s millions” does not seem to be in the cards, since “Switzerland’s financial relations with Syria have been practically frozen since 2011,” writes the newspaper.
Currently, 318 individuals and 87 entities are on the sanctions list. They target people or entities who have “shared responsibility for the violent repression carried out by the Syrian regime against the civilian population, supported the Syrian regime and its army, or even benefited from the advantages of the Syrian regime,” detailed the Ministry of Defense. ‘economy
On Sunday, rebels captured the capital Damascus following a lightning offensive launched on November 27, which rocked the country and ended more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family.
