Switzerland has frozen an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.81 billion) in financial assets belonging to Russians, the government said on Friday, under sanctions designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The figure, a provisional estimate, represented a slight increase from the 7.5 billion francs the Swiss government said it had blocked last year after the neutral country adopted European Union sanctions.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the agency overseeing sanctions, said the 7.7 billion francs figure was only its latest estimate and was subject to change.
It was difficult to give a precise figure due to new people being added or removed from the sanctions list, as well as legal cases to freeze or unlock further assets.
Bern has also blocked the movement of 7.4 billion francs in foreign currency assets belonging to the Russian central bank.
Still, the frozen assets are only a fraction of the total wealth held by Russians in Switzerland, with the country’s banks holding 150 billion francs, according to estimates by the Swiss Bankers Association.
The European Commission is working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction.
The original article contains 375 words, the summary contains 169 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The figure, a provisional estimate, represented a slight increase from the 7.5 billion francs the Swiss government said it had blocked last year after the neutral country adopted European Union sanctions.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the agency overseeing sanctions, said the 7.7 billion francs figure was only its latest estimate and was subject to change.
It was difficult to give a precise figure due to new people being added or removed from the sanctions list, as well as legal cases to freeze or unlock further assets.
Bern has also blocked the movement of 7.4 billion francs in foreign currency assets belonging to the Russian central bank.
Still, the frozen assets are only a fraction of the total wealth held by Russians in Switzerland, with the country’s banks holding 150 billion francs, according to estimates by the Swiss Bankers Association.
The European Commission is working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction.
The original article contains 375 words, the summary contains 169 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!