Slight increase in Russian assets blocked in Switzerland
Swiss authorities have so far frozen 6.7 billion Swiss francs ($6.8 billion) in assets belonging to sanctioned Russians. This corresponds to an increase of CHF 400 million since mid-May.
This content was published on July 9, 2022 – 11:59 am
Keystone SDA/SECO/sb
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the federal department responsible for sanctions, announced the number on July 8. The total of frozen assets includes 15 properties.
The amount has changed little since 6.3 billion Swiss francs in frozen Russian assets were reported in mid-May.
“The amount of the frozen assets does not allow to measure the effectiveness of the sanctions. It only represents a snapshot and can vary in one direction or the other,” said SECO in a expressionexternal link on his website.
Switzerland has adopted all EU sanctions packages against Russia since invading Ukraine on February 24; The latest is the European embargo on Russian crude oil imports, approved by the Swiss government on June 10.
On that day, the Swiss authorities also imposed monetary and travel sanctions on another 100 other Russian and Belarusian individuals and organizations. The new Swiss sanctions list is identical to that of the EU. To date, over 1,100 Russian individuals and nearly 100 entities have been included on the Swiss list.
Despite fierce discussions and criticism from abroadexternal link no matter how eagerly the country enforces the sanctions, Switzerland has so far refrained from adapting procedures coordinated by SECO. On June 9, Parliament rejected a left-wing motion to set up a special task force to coordinate sanctions efforts.
The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) estimates that banks hold up to 200 billion Swiss francs in possession of all Russian customers, most of whom are not subject to sanctions.
The NGO Public Eye has been researching connections between the Swiss financial center and wealthy Russians for years. “Almost five months after the start of the war, there is still a lack of political will and active efforts to trace the assets of sanctioned persons,” said spokesman Oliver Classen daily scoreboard newspaper on Friday.
In order to improve the tracking and freezing of assets, the NGO is calling for a national task force, a register of beneficial owners of front companies and a reporting requirement for lawyers.
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