08/04/22

SWITZERLAND: More Russian Assets Blocked at Swiss Banks.

As published on finews.com, Friday 8 April, 2022.

The Swiss federal government is going beyond was is called for on Russian sanctions.

To date, Russian assets amounting to 7.5 billion Swiss francs ($8.0 billion) are frozen on the basis of the sanctions, Erwin Bollinger of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) was quoted by the «AWP» news agency on Thursday. As early as March 24, Bollinger put the figure at 5.75 billion francs.

The sum includes money in frozen accounts and properties in four cantons. So far, Switzerland had thus frozen more assets than any other country. The Netherlands had frozen 500 million francs; other countries would not provide any information, said the ambassador and head of the Bilateral Economic Relations Division at Seco.

The information is always only a snapshot and effective control is difficult, with a tendency to block more than necessary. Also, the precautionary blocking of assets shows that banks are aware of their obligations. Recently, the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) estimated Russian assets held by local banks are worth up to 200 billion francs.

Additionally, the Federal Council intends to adopt future sanctions adopted by the EU, Bollinger further stressed. Currently, almost 900 individuals, companies and organizations are sanctioned.