Many wealthy people in Russia often keep their assets in Swiss banks (Photo: AFP).
Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on December 1 that as of now, the country has frozen about 7.7 billion Swiss francs (8.8 billion USD) in Russian assets.
The figure is slightly up from the 7.5 billion francs the Swiss government announced last year after the neutral country implemented EU sanctions against Russia, after Switzerland added 300 people and 100 companies and organizations to its sanctions list in the past 12 months.
However, it is difficult to give an exact figure because Switzerland can add or remove someone from the sanctions list. A more accurate figure is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2024 after Swiss banks report to the government.
These frozen assets are just a fraction of the total assets that Russians hold in Switzerland.
Despite its traditional neutrality, Switzerland has decided to side with European countries in sanctioning Russia in response to Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.
During a visit to Ukraine last month, Swiss President Alain Berset pledged further support for Ukraine. He also discussed using profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild.
The European Commission is considering a proposal to divert some of the profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Switzerland is also involved in the discussions but has not yet decided whether to support them. Switzerland has so far refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, citing neutrality.
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