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US Commission accuses Switzerland of hiding Russian assets

A panel of US government and congressional members has strongly criticised Switzerland’s role in sanctioning Russia and accused the country of helping the Kremlin to keep its billions safe. The Swiss government has rejected the accusations.

Published: 7 May 2022 16:37 CEST

An image of the 1000 Swiss francs note on view during a press conference in 2019 in Zurich.

An image of the 1000 Swiss francs note on view during a press conference in 2019 in Zurich. Photo: Michele Limina/AFP

The US Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe – known as the Helsinki Commission – has strongly criticised Switzerland’s perceived role in hiding Russian assets.

It said that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and numerous oligarchs are using Switzerland to hide and protect their assets and that the close ties between Swiss and Russian authorities had exerted a corrupting influence on law enforcement personnel in Switzerland.

The commission also raised questions about the impact of Switzerland’s behaviour on US national security and whether the United States should reconsider its strategic bilateral relationship with Switzerland.

The Swiss government has so far frozen 7.5 billion francs in assets in connection with sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the Swiss Bankers Association estimates that Russians living abroad have total assets in Switzerland worth between 150 to 200 billion francs.

READ ALSO: Switzerland extends sanctions on Russian assets

This discrepancy has provoked criticism against the government and accusations that it has not been resolute enough in tracking down Russian assets.

The Swiss government has denied the accusations made by the Helsinki Commission. A spokesperson for the Swiss government said Switzerland is implementing all European Union sanctions and “is in constant exchange with all relevant actors at home and abroad, including the US.”

Experts say one of the difficulties in identifying Russian assets is that many are hidden behind nested companies.

On the other hand, lawyers and trustees in Switzerland are subject to less stringent disclosure requirements than banks, offering a potential loophole to people who want to hide their assets.

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Switzerland to host Ukraine peace conference without Russian involvement

The conference will take place at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15th -16th and would be hosted by Swiss President Viola Amherd.

“This is a first step in a process towards a lasting peace,” she told reporters in Bern.

Russia quickly slammed the planned conference and Amherd acknowledged that “we will not sign a peace plan at this conference”, but said she hoped “there will be a second conference”.

“We hope to start the process.”

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is putting Ukrainian forces under new pressure, condemned the event as being part of a scheme by US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party ahead of this year’s presidential election.

“American Democrats, who need photos and videos of events that supposedly indicate their project ‘Ukraine’ is still afloat, are behind this,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Switzerland hopes to get Russia into later talks.

The government said in January, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that it wanted to organise a peace conference this year.

‘Support for peace’

The government said in a statement Wednesday that it “took note of the results of the exploratory phase of the high-level conference on peace in Ukraine”.

It determined that “there is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process.”

In January, Zelensky spoke of a “summit” without any Russian participation.

But traditionally neutral Switzerland wants to find a way to bring the Kremlin into the talks, and has been battling to attract China and other emerging powers.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis also tried to woo Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York in January.

Russia, angered by the Swiss decision to follow the neighbouring European Union in imposing sanctions, has charged the country can no longer be considered neutral.

On Wednesday, Cassis acknowledged Russia’s absence from the table but stressed that the aim was to include Moscow in future talks.

“A peace process cannot happen without Russia, even though it will not be there during the first meeting,” he said.

Since deciding that it wanted to host a conference, the Swiss government said it had been “in direct contact with numerous states to explore options for initiating a peace process”.

Switzerland had held talks with G7 member states, the EU and representatives of the Global South, including China, India, South Africa and Brazil, it said.

Bern did not disclose who would be attending, but Swiss media reports said US President Joe Biden would be on the list.

The conference will be aimed at establishing “a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” the government said.

“It aims to create a common understanding of a framework favourable to this objective and a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

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