Russia’s Central Bank Has $8 Billion Frozen in Switzerland

• Russia’s central bank has $8.3 billion being held across Switzerland that have been immobilized.
• Switzerland broke its historic neutrality last February to adopt EU sanctions against Russia.
• Amid calls to seize the assets to help Ukraine, the Swiss government said discussions are ongoing.

Russia’s central bank has $8.3 billion worth of assets in Switzerland that have been immobilized, according to the Swiss government. 

The announcement followed new disclosure obligations that accompanied the latest sanctions package from the European Union.

Last February, Switzerland broke away from its historic neutrality to levy sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Western governments froze the Russian central bank’s foreign exchange assets, effectively cutting it off from the global financial system.

The $8.3 billion, or 7.4 billion Swiss francs, in Russian central bank assets in Switzerland are separate from the 7.5 billion francs worth of assets belonging to Russian individuals and companies that were frozen as well.

Despite calls to seize the funds and hand them over to help with Ukraine’s reconstruction, Swiss officials have been hesitant, saying that could potentially break Swiss law, according to Bloomberg.

Switzerland said on Wednesday that such discussions are ongoing and officials are following them closely.

Meanwhile, EU states are looking to target Chinese and Iranian firms plus other third countries that are circumventing existing sanctions against Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the curbs were designed in “close coordination” with Group of Seven nations, Reuters reported Wednesday.

“If we see that goods are going from the European Union to third countries and then end up in Russia, we could propose to the member states to sanction those goods’ export,” she said, per Reuters. “This tool will be a last resort and it will be used cautiously.”