After seizure of the bank account of debtor in one of the Swiss banks, the last agreed to voluntarily recoup for all the occurred damages of the client in the amount of 160.000 USD and additionally compensate the legal expenses incurred by the client.

Senior associate at AGA Partners, Ivan Kasynyuk, commented on this process the following: «Seizure of the account in any Swiss banks is the effective and efficient instrument against difficile debtors, with the purpose of involuntary enforcement of the international arbitration awards».

It should be noted that the main characteristic of the Swiss attachement is the fact that it is aimed at the assets of the debtor, and not at the debtor himself. Also the important characteristics of Swiss attachement are:

-          seizure is possible without the arbitration delivering judgment in the dispute on merits. Neither it is necessary to initiate arbitration proceedings (for instance, prior to the initiation of GAFTA arbitration proceedings);

-          Swiss attachment is mandatory to third parties holding the debtor’s assets, в том числе для банков, including banks, and such banks cannot claim any bank secrets in this situation. This is one of the numerous reasons that show why Swiss attachment is so efficient;

-          Swiss attachment order may be obtained under an ex-part procedure, i.e. without notification of the debtor. Yet the debtor’s bank may be notified of the fact within 24 hours of receipt of the order.