Switzerland freezes almost USD8.81B of Russian assets
Date
12/4/2023 7:08:32 AM
(MENAFN) As of late last week, Switzerland has approximately 7.7 billion Swiss francs (equivalent to USD8.81 billion) of Russian assets frozen within its financial institutions, as revealed by the national agency overseeing sanctions. This provisional estimate, subject to potential adjustments, reflects an increase from the 7.5 billion francs blocked by Swiss authorities in 2022.
The current estimate encompasses various assets such as properties, luxury cars owned by sanctioned Russians, as well as profits from cash deposits, bonds, and shares.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) acknowledged the complexity of precisely calculating frozen funds due to ongoing additions to sanctions lists. Over the past year, approximately 300 individuals and 100 companies from Russia have faced new sanctions, and court proceedings to freeze or unfreeze assets further contribute to the dynamic nature of the overall situation.
In addition to personal funds, Swiss banks are reported to hold 7.4 billion francs in foreign currency assets belonging to the Russian central bank, according to SECO.
Despite the substantial frozen assets, the Swiss Bankers Association estimates that these represent only a fraction of the total funds held by Russians in the country. Recent approximations suggest that the overall holdings amount to around 150 billion francs.
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