The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs estimates the value of frozen assets from Russian sanctions at nearly six billion Swiss francs.
Switzerland has frozen around 5.75 billion Swiss francs ($6.2 billion) worth of funds and assets belonging to sanctioned individuals, companies and organizations, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) said at a media conference (in German) Thursday.
The number reflects the current amount, and is continuously increasing, Seco’s head of the bilateral economic relations division Erwin Bollinger, said, with another update planned in two weeks.
Mountain Chalets
While information on individuals or individual assets could not be disclosed, Bollinger confirmed that frozen assets included properties in tourist regions.
Besides the Seco, the customs office, State Secretariat for Migration SEM and cantonal land registry offices are involved in following up on leads about possible assets belonging to sanctioned persons.
Banks and asset managers are obliged to report assets and funds believed to be attributable to sanctioned clients to Seco, ever since Switzerland adopted EU sanctions on February 28.
Blocked not Confiscated
Currently, 874 individuals and 64 companies and organizations are on the list.
Bollinger said that the funds and assets were only blocked, not confiscated and ownership remains unchanged.
200 Billion Francs
So far it has been difficult to quantify the total of Russian assets in Switzerland. The Bankers Association last week estimated Russian clients' money in Swiss banks in the «low single-digit percentage» of the banks’ total amount, corresponding to about 50 to 200 billion francs.
