Switzerland has frozen financial assets worth nearly $8 billion as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on Dec. 1. Fifteen Russian properties have also been blocked as of Nov. 25, the agency reported.
According to SECO, the agency overseeing sanctions, Swiss banks hold deposits of Russian nationals, natural persons, and legal entities amounting to about $48.15 billion (46.1 billion francs).
It is far less than the $213 billion estimated by the Swiss Bankers Association in March.
The reason for this inconsistency could be that Russians who are also Swiss or EU citizens or have a residence there are not subjected to the ban on deposits, SECO wrote. The agency added that Russians’ bank deposits of less than 100,000 francs are also exempt from the sanctions.
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