Facts
The Islamic Republic of Iran obtained on 12 May 1981 a sequestration (No 381 SQ 276) on the assets of Universal Oil Trade Inc. (UOT) as well as those registered in the name of Ahmed Heidari and Ahmad Sarakbi with the Compagnie Financière Méditerranéenne COFIMED S.A. On 9 December 1988, American Express Bank obtained a sequestration (No 288 SQ 680) on the assets of Ahmed Heidari held by the Debt Collection Office of Geneva and UBS. American Express Bank contested the sequestration report, which provided that the transformation of sequestration No 381 SQ 276 into a definitive seizure would cancel the execution of the other sequestrations, in particular the one obtained against Heidari. American Express Bank concluded that it should be able to temporarily participate in the seizure under Art. 281 para. 1 DEBA.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal ruled that sequestration does not constitute a proper enforcement measure and does not create any substantive legal privilege. Sequestration has an eminently provisional character and does not confer on the seizing creditor the privilege of being paid preferentially from the proceeds of the sale of the assets placed under judicial seizure.
When two sequestrations compete, the object of the measure obtained by the second creditor cannot be reduced, by analogous application of Art. 110 para. 3 DEBA, to the share of the assets already sequestered, which would remain after the first creditor has been paid.…