Officials from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) frequently travel to Switzerland for meetings with Swiss banks, without informing Swiss authorities about these discussions. According to an anonymous source, Swiss banks occasionally report personal visits from OFAC representatives.
OFAC is a division of the US Treasury Department with offices near the White House in Washington DC, responsible for enforcing sanctions imposed by the US on states, companies, and individuals worldwide. These sanctions aim to cut off sanctioned entities from the American financial system. Although American sanctions do not have legal validity in Switzerland, internationally operating companies must comply with them.
During these informal bilateral meetings between OFAC and Swiss banks, OFAC representatives discuss sanctions rules and interpretations. These meetings provide banks with a better understanding of OFAC’s objectives and help navigate complex sanction matters. In recent years, there has been a focus on Russia sanctions, with Andrea Gacki being a key figure in implementing them. Banks active in asset management like UBS, Credit Suisse, and Julius Baer are likely targets of these meetings.
While some Swiss banks have direct contact with OFAC, others may not be aware of these interactions. The informal meetings are arranged bilaterally between the banks and OFAC without involving official bodies like the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) or the financial market regulator Finma. Seco maintains good cooperation with all partners including the USA while Finma emphasizes the importance of communicating with sanctioning authorities within legal frameworks.
In cases of sensitive issues or high-ranking OFAC personnel or demands for confidential data, banks are expected to involve Finma or Seco. Concerns about lack of transparency in these direct interactions between OFAC and Swiss banks have been raised but generally view cooperation as constructive especially in matters related to Russia sanctions.