Swiss Frozen Russian Asset Tally Jumps to $8.4 Billion

(Bloomberg) — The value of Russian assets frozen by Swiss authorities jumped to 7.4 billion Swiss francs ($8.4 billion) as the country embraced further European Union sanctions against hundreds of Russian individuals and companies deemed to be close to the Kremlin. 

The total for confiscated assets surged 28% from 5.8 billion francs a year earlier, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said in a press conference on Tuesday. The value of Russian central bank assets frozen by the Swiss climbed by 3.5% to 7.45 billion in the past year. 

The Swiss have faced criticism in the past for not having seized more Russian assets, since the country’s decision to depart from its historical neutrality and embrace EU sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Banks hold at least 150 billion francs in Russian assets, the Swiss Bankers Association said in 2022, thought it’s unclear how that number has changed in recent years.

The Swiss have adopted 15 of the 16 EU sanctions rounds, which to date have resulted in 1,859 individuals and 541 companies being targeted. The latest, imposed last month, includes three banks and 74 ships from third countries sanctioned for being part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet circumventing the imposed oil price cap. 

More than 600 suspected cases of sanctions evasions have been reported to SECO, prompting the Swiss to open 68 penalty proceedings. Of that total 24 have resulted in final convictions, SECO said.

At the same time, the sanctions adoption has been strongly criticized by right-wing politicians who say it has undermined the country’s economic competitiveness. It’s an argument that may be heard more widely across Switzerland if the Trump Administration lifts US sanctions on Russia as part of a broader peace deal over Ukraine. 

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