Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs announces how much in Russian assets it has frozen since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
Since Switzerland adopted EU sanctions against Russia in February, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has frozen 7.5 billion Swiss francs ($7.9 billion) held by Russian nationals, firms, and entities, and blocked 15 properties belonging to this group, said in an emailed statement Thursday.
In June the Federal Council banned taking deposits of over 100,000 francs from Russian citizens, firms, or entities while ruling that existing deposits exceeding 100,000 francs had to be reported to the SECO. This reporting requirement does not affect people who either have citizenship or permanent residency in Switzerland or the European Economic Area (EEA).
Snapshot
Since the reporting measure came into force in June, 123 persons or entities reported 7,548 business relationships to SECO with a total value of 46.1 billion francs, while 28 notifications were received in connection with measures against Belarus involving 294 business relationships with a total value of 0.4 billion francs, it said.
With deposits under the 100,000 francs per person limit exempt from reporting requirements, it is clear that the total amount of funds of Russian origin held in Switzerland is higher than 46.1 billion francs.
The amount of frozen assets offers a snapshot and is not a direct measure of how effective sanctions are being implemented, the statement said, adding that the value can fluctuate.
