The Swiss Federal Council decided to extend the freezing of assets of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his entourage for one year at its meeting on Friday, December 10, the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine has said.

"The Federal Council of Switzerland has decided to extend for one year the asset freeze in the context of to support the judicial cooperation between Ukraine and Switzerland. This blocking was introduced in 2014 after the ouster of Ukrainian President Yanukovych," the Swiss Embassy said on Twitter on Friday.

It is indicated that since 2014, the Swiss authorities have been closely cooperating with Ukrainian counterparts to advance the asset recovery process.

"With regard to potential restitution, court rulings on the illicit origin of the assets have yet to be rendered in Ukraine. The maximum duration of the asset freeze is limit to ten years," the embassy said.

Seven years ago, the Swiss Federal Council decided to freeze all assets of Yanukovych and his entourage in the country.

The Swiss Embassy in Ukraine previously said that since then, the Swiss authorities have been working closely with Ukrainian partners to complete the process of returning these assets to the Ukrainian people based on court decisions on their illegal origin. The embassy also said that, according to Swiss law, the maximum duration of such a freeze is ten years.