Officials from the Office of Foreign Assets Control regularly travel to Switzerland for meetings, with the Swiss authorities not always being informed about these bilateral meetings. Observers have noted that American OFAC employees informally travel to Switzerland to hold discussions with bank representatives. OFAC, a division of the US Treasury Department located near the White House in Washington DC, enforces sanctions imposed by the US on entities worldwide.
One of OFAC’s main goals is to cut off sanctioned states, companies, and individuals from the American financial system. While Swiss banks must adhere to US sanctions when dealing with US dollars or transactions involving the US, the legal validity of American sanctions on Swiss soil is debatable. Violating US government sanctions can result in significant fines imposed by OFAC without court judgment.
OFAC representatives engage in bilateral meetings with individual Swiss banks to discuss the interpretation of sanctions rules, OFAC’s objectives, and specific issues related to sanctions regulations. These meetings are considered valuable for providing banks with a better understanding of OFAC’s perspective and operational focus, particularly in the context of Russia sanctions.
While not all Swiss banks have direct contact with OFAC, internationally operating banks involved in asset management are more likely to engage in discussions with the authority. The secretive nature of these meetings, often held without informing Swiss authorities like Seco or Finma, raises questions about the transparency and oversight of these interactions.
Despite the controversies surrounding OFAC’s informal meetings with Swiss banks, some view them as necessary for companies to navigate complex sanctions regulations effectively. The lack of official oversight from Swiss authorities such as Seco and Finma regarding these interactions has raised concerns about accountability and regulatory compliance in the financial sector.