Switzerland has responded to accusations from European countries that it is not actively freezing Russian assets enough.
Bern has frozen $8.3 billion worth of assets since sanctions were imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine last year, said Hélène Budliger-Artieda, director of the government department at the State Secretariat for the Economy (SECO).
Source. This was reported by the BBC.
This amount is equivalent to one-third of the $23.4 billion frozen in the EU, she told the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper.
Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but it implements the bloc's sanctions against Russia. Budliger-Artieda expressed surprise that Switzerland is being accused of "negligence" in fulfilling its obligations.
Last week, the G7 countries asked Switzerland to freeze the assets of Russian oligarchs more actively, the Handelszeitung newspaper reported. The confidential letter sent to the Swiss government was signed by all G7 ambassadors in Bern.
Last month, Scott Miller, the US ambassador to Switzerland, said that Bern could additionally block Russian assets worth 50 to 100 billion Swiss francs.
"Sanctions are only as strong as the political will behind them. We need to find as many assets as possible, freeze them and, if necessary, confiscate them to provide them to Ukraine for reconstruction," he said in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
"When we meet on a technical level with the EU, the UK and the US, we never hear such criticism. Obviously, there is a misunderstanding," Budliger-Artieda said in an interview with NZZ.
"The figure of 50 to 100 billion francs was initially circulated as a possible estimate of Russian funds under management – but it is not Switzerland's estimate," she emphasized.
"But not all Russians are subject to sanctions, only a small minority," Budliger-Artieda said. Asked whether frozen assets could be confiscated to finance Ukraine's recovery, the director said the working group "came to a clear conclusion: property rights would be violated."
"In Switzerland, confiscation of private assets is not allowed if they have a legal origin and there is no evidence of a violation of the law," she said.
Background. It was also reported that the UK froze $2.9 billion sent by Abramovich to victims of the war in Ukraine.