John Revill
Switzerland has frozen an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.81 billion) in financial assets belonging to Russians, the government said on Friday, under sanctions designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The figure, a provisional estimate, represented a slight increase from the 7.5 billion francs the Swiss government said it had blocked last year after the neutral country adopted European Union sanctions.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the agency overseeing sanctions, said the 7.7 billion francs figure was only its latest estimate and was subject to change.
It was difficult to give a precise figure due to new people being added or removed from the sanctions list, as well as legal cases to freeze or unlock further assets.
A more accurate figure is expected by the end of the second quarter 2024 when the Swiss banks report to the government.
The increase in the frozen assets is due to an increase of 300 people and 100 companies and organisations who have been added to the sanctions list over the past 12 months.
It also includes the estimated profits from cash deposits, bonds, shares, as well as properties and luxury cars.
Bern has also blocked the movement of 7.4 billion francs in foreign currency assets belonging to the Russian central bank.
SECO declined to comment on which individuals have had their assets frozen.
Still, the frozen assets are only a fraction of the total wealth held by Russians in Switzerland, with the country's banks holding 150 billion francs, according to estimates by the Swiss Bankers Association.
President Alain Berset pledged more support for Ukraine during a visit to the country last month and discussed using the profits of frozen Russian assets to help rebuild the country.
The European Commission is working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction. Switzerland is taking part in the discussions but has not decided whether to support the proposal.
But there have been limits to the Swiss support, with the country rejecting pleas from other countries to be allowed to send Swiss-made weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine, citing the country's neutrality laws.
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