Switzerland Freezes 11 Trillion Won of Russian Assets Since Ukraine War

Neutral Switzerland has frozen Russian assets worth around 11 trillion won since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war last year.

Swiss Federal Government Building

According to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) on the 4th (local time), as of early this month, the scale of Russian assets frozen by Switzerland amounted to 7.7 billion Swiss francs (about 11.5 trillion won).

SECO explained, "This frozen amount is an estimate, and the exact figure will be compiled around the end of the second quarter of next year."

Switzerland, as a neutral country, has maintained an unbiased stance toward either party in military matters but has accepted Western economic sanctions against Russia.

Switzerland has accepted Western economic sanctions conducted in 11 rounds so far, freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals within its territory and blocking financial transactions. SECO explained that the frozen assets exceed 11 trillion won, including those of Russian business figures known as oligarchs, as well as individuals and institutions involved in the invasion of Ukraine or local human rights abuses.

However, among Western countries, there are still criticisms that Switzerland’s sanctions are passive. Despite the expectation that more sanctioned assets are hidden due to Switzerland’s financial practices prioritizing client confidentiality, Switzerland is not actively freezing these assets.

In September, Switzerland refused a request to join the 'Russia Elite, Proxies, and Oligarchs Taskforce' (REPO), a specialized cooperative organization of the Group of Seven (G7) countries that tracks and freezes assets of influential Russian figures. Switzerland’s position is that it can cooperate with the West in locating and freezing sanctioned assets even without joining REPO.

Furthermore, Switzerland emphasizes that the scale of frozen assets worth 11 trillion won exceeds one-third of the total frozen assets by the European Union (EU).

Helene Budliger-Artieda, head of SECO, recently told a domestic newspaper, "I would give our asset freezing activities a score of 5.5 out of 6," adding, "The sanction enforcement process is very excellent, and cooperation with neighboring countries is also well established."