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Over 7 billion francs of Russian central bank assets held in Switzerland

A total of 7.4 billion Swiss francs ($8.3billion) of reserves and assets of the Russian central bank are being held in Switzerland, the Swiss economic affairs ministry said Wednesday.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:41 CEST

A man waves a Ukrainian flag in front of the Swiss House of Parliament

A man waves a Ukrainian flag in front of the Swiss House of Parliament during a national demonstration for peace and against the war in Ukraine on April 2, 2022. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Transactions related to the management of Russia’s central bank assets and reserves have been prohibited since a month after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the ministry said in a statement, adding that “the bank’s assets have been immobilised”.

The Swiss government had been informed Wednesday of the amount of Russian central bank assets and reserves held in the wealthy Alpine nation after imposing a new reporting requirement in March, the statement said.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) stressed that the “sum of immobilised assets should be distinguished from the sum of frozen funds and
assets in Switzerland”.

To date, Switzerland – long a favoured destination for wealthy Russians and their assets – has frozen some 7.5 billion Swiss francs in Russian funds and assets, owned or controlled by sanctioned persons, companies or entities, it said.

Traditionally neutral Switzerland decided four days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, to align itself with the neighbouring European Union’s sanctions against Moscow, obliging banks to pass on information on clients or firms targeted.

READ ALSO: Swiss reject criticism over handling of Russian assets

Wednesday’s statement stressed that “it will remain mandatory to report reserves and assets of the Russian central bank, and reporting will take place regularly, on a quarterly basis.”

“In the event of extraordinary and unforeseen loss or damage, there is an obligation to report this immediately to SECO.”

It highlighted that within the neighbouring EU, “there are ongoing discussions on whether assets of the Russian Central Bank should be invested and the proceeds used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

“Switzerland is following these discussions closely.”

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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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