Switzerland has frozen nearly $8bn worth of Russian assets
By Ann Kernahan, December 2022
Russian assets worth 7.5 billion Swiss francs (about $7.95 billion) have been frozen in Switzerland. This was reported in a statement on the website of the Swiss economy ministry.
Assets frozen in Switzerland amount to 7.5 billion francs as of November 2022, the statement said. Also noted are "15 properties of individuals or legal entities that are subject to sanctions".
The statement specifies that the owners of these assets cannot dispose of them.
The Ministry of Economy stresses that the volume of frozen assets is not indicative of the effectiveness of the sanctions. In addition, the amounts frozen may increase when new individuals come under sanctions or new assets are identified.
Since the introduction of the requirement to report existing deposits of more than 100,000 francs, 123 individuals or companies have reported 7,548 commercial relationships totalling 46.1 billion francs.
Earlier, the Swiss leadership received an idea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski to hand over frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
A spokesman for the Swiss Economy Ministry, Fabian Mayenfisch, said that for the Swiss government, confiscating assets only on the basis of belonging to a certain state or being put on a sanctions list and using them to rebuild Ukraine is not an option for supporting Ukraine at the moment.