Nearly $8B in Russian assets frozen in Switzerland

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ISTANBUL (AA) – Switzerland has frozen Russian financial assets worth 7.5 billion Swiss francs ($7.9 billion) as of Nov. 25, authorities said on Thursday.

According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), 15 properties “held by sanctioned natural persons, companies and entities” have also been blocked in six Swiss cantons.

The latest figure marks a slight increase from $7.09 billion reported in July.

SECO said it was notified of sanctioned or not sanctioned Russian-owned assets in Switzerland worth 46.1 billion Swiss francs ($48.8 billion) as of June 3.

It clarified that Russians who also hold citizenship or residence permits for Switzerland or a European Economic Area state “are exempt from the ban on depositing new funds, as well as from the reporting requirement.”

Deposits under the limit of 100,000 Swiss francs (around $105,800) are also exempt from reporting.

“The level of reported deposits, which exceeds CHF 46.1 billion, can therefore not be equated with the total amount of funds of Russian origin held in Switzerland,” read the SECO statement.