The Swiss Federal Council (Bundesrat) approved additional sanctions against Belarus on 18 September 2026, aligning with measures adopted by the European Union on 23 April 2026. The new provisions take effect on 19 September 2026.
The sanctions expand the existing regime to mirror the restrictions imposed on Russia. In the financial sector, they introduce a blanket transaction ban on certain crypto assets and digital central‑bank currencies, including the digital Belarusian ruble. The ban also covers transactions with crypto‑service providers and decentralized platforms that are based in Belarus.
Financial intermediaries are required to enforce the prohibitions, freeze assets of sanctioned persons and report affected business relationships to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Reporting does not relieve intermediaries of the duty to conduct additional due‑diligence under anti‑money‑laundering law (Art. 6 GwG) and, where doubts remain, to file a suspicious‑activity report with the Money Laundering Reporting Office (Art. 9 GwG).
