G7 countries shame Switzerland for insufficient fight against loopholes in sanctions against russia
Swiss privacy laws are used by russians to hide their billions
The Group of Seven (G7) countries have privately rebuked Switzerland for not doing enough to combat russian oligarchs evading sanctions.
Source. This was reported by The Financial Times with reference to a letter signed by the G7 ambassadors in Bern on behalf of the group and the EU ambassador.
The letter, sent to the Swiss government, states that Swiss privacy laws and other "loopholes" are being used by the russians to hide billions of francs in offshore assets.
Switzerland, which is officially neutral, like other EU countries, imposed economic sanctions against russia after russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
According to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), $7.5 billion worth of russian assets have been frozen.
But G7 ambassadors question this figure.
"Independent sources believe that the total amount held in Switzerland could be significantly higher," they wrote.
The authors of the letter thanked Switzerland for not turning into a "safe haven" for russian money, but added that more work is needed to ensure compliance with the sanctions regime.
On April 13, RBC reported, citing two lawyers and a source in the Swiss banking sector, that Swiss banks were going to close accounts of russians.
According to the Swiss Banking Association, the country has assets of russians worth 150 to 200 billion Swiss francs.
As of November 2022, Switzerland has frozen russian assets worth 7.5 billion Swiss francs. CHF 7.5 billion.
Background. As a reminder, one of the largest banks in the UAE began to block investment accounts of russians.
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