1 The authorities of the Confederation that are responsible for enforcement, supervision, crime prevention and prosecution may cooperate with the responsible foreign authorities as well as with international organisations or bodies and coordinate investigations, provided:
- a.
- this is necessary for the implementation of this Act and of the ordinances in terms of Article 2 paragraph 3, corresponding foreign provisions, or corresponding provisions of international organisations; and
- b.
- the foreign authorities, and international organisations or bodies are bound by official secrecy or a corresponding duty of secrecy, and guarantee the prevention of industrial espionage within the scope of their activities.
2 They may in particular request foreign authorities and international organisations or bodies to handover any data that is required. In order to obtain such data, they may disclose data, including particularly sensitive personal data, to other authorities, and in particular data relating to:
- a.
- the nature, quantity, place of destination and place of use, purpose, and recipients of goods;
- b.
- persons who are involved in the manufacture, supply or procurement of goods;
- c.
- the financial terms and conditions of the transaction;
- d.
- frozen accounts and assets.
3 The federal authorities may disclose data in terms of paragraph 2 above on their own initiative or in response to a request from a foreign state, provided the relevant state:
- a.
- accords reciprocal legal rights and is also enforcing the international sanctions;
- b.
- provides the assurance that the data will be processed only for purposes that are in accordance with this Act; and
- c.
- provides the assurance that the data will be used in criminal proceedings only where mutual assistance in criminal matters would not be excluded due to the nature of the offence.
4 The relevant administrative unit of the Confederation shall decide in consultation with the federal department responsible for mutual assistance matters4 whether the requirements for the use of data in criminal proceedings in terms of paragraph 3 letter c above have been fulfilled.
5 The federal authorities may, subject to the requirements of paragraph 3 above, also disclose data to international organisations or bodies; in doing so, they may dispense with the requirement that reciprocal legal rights be accorded.
6 In cases of violations of this Act, mutual assistance may be given to foreign authorities and international organisations or bodies in accordance with paragraph 1 above. Such violations do not constitute currency, commercial, or economic offences in terms of Article 3 paragraph 3 of the Mutual Assistance Act of 20 March 19815, the procedural provisions of which remain applicable.