Facts
On 27 January 2020, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation sent Switzerland a request for mutual legal assistance in the context of an investigation against B.B. and C.B., suspected of misappropriation. The Russian authorities subsequently requested the blocking of the account held by company A. Ltd, whose funds, allegedly originating from the aforementioned misappropriation, could be confiscated and returned to the injured party.
Following Russia's military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022, various measures have been taken at the international level and in Switzerland, including Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe and its suspension from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Criminal Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court initially refused legal assistance to Russia and lifted the seizure on the assets of A. Ltd. However, the Federal Office of Justice appealed against this decision.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal of the Federal Office of Justice. It considered that, although Russia has seriously violated public international law by its attack on Ukraine, it remains a party to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (ECMACM) and the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime (CLSSCPC). Switzerland is therefore still obliged to grant mutual legal assistance as broadly as possible under these conventions.
Accordingly, the Federal Tribunal ordered the…