Information Note on the Court’s case-law 258

January 2022

Ivanyushchenko v. Switzerland (communicated case) - 54708/20

Article 8

Article 8-1

Respect for private life

Asset freezing of a member of the entourage of the former President of Ukraine (Yanukovych), ongoing for nearly eight years: communicated

After the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from office in February 2014, the Swiss Federal Council adopted an ordinance freezing the assets of the former President and his entourage on account of the strong suspicion of corruption on the part of the individuals concerned. In July 2016 a further ordinance was adopted, the validity of which has since been extended on a yearly basis.

In December 2017 the applicant asked for his name to be removed from the ordinance, chiefly on the grounds that the duration of the measure was no longer proportionate to the legitimate aim of facilitating mutual legal assistance, and that it amounted to a severe interference with his right to respect for his reputation. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs refused his request, noting in particular that there were “serious suspicions of misappropriation” on his part in view of the ongoing proceedings in Switzerland and Ukraine.

His subsequent applications to the courts were unsuccessful: in the most recent decision in March 2020, the Federal Supreme Court held that since the applicant’s situation was complex, it could not be entirely ruled out that assets that were currently unknown and not the subject of a criminal seizure order might be discovered in the future; accordingly, the freezing of his assets still appeared necessary in order to prevent them from being taken out of Switzerland.

Case communicated under Article 8 of the Convention.

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes