SWISS PENALTY FOR ARMS TRAFFICKING TO IRAN: 600 FRANC FINE

If you have not been following the unfolding case in Italy, a number of Italians have been arrested for  shipping restricted military equipment, via Romania, to Iran, in clear violation of EU and international sanctions. There is a related Swiss case: one of the conspirators purchased 50 high-tech sniper scopes in Germany, and shipped them to Iran, without any sort of export permit or license. Some of these scopes were later used by the Taliban against German troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan. The serial numbers on seized scopes were traced back to the purchaser.

Some of the scopes were found to be defective, and were returned to Switzerland by Iran, at which point they were confiscated by Swiss customs authorities. The individual, who was charged administratively, and not with a crime, was fined 600 Swiss Francs, and given the right to appeal the sentence.  He could have been sentenced to three years in a Swiss prison, under their penal code. As you can see, the Government of Switzerland , which is neither a member of NATO, nor the European Union, is not a bona fide partner in the global sanctions efforts against Iran.