Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, Michael Shields

ZURICH, Reuters – The value of Russian assets that are subject to sanctions has been frozen by Switzerland at 5.75 billion Swiss francs (roughly $6.17 billion). A government official stated on Thursday that this figure is expected to increase.

“Today, this is the first occasion that I am able to give you an estimate of the frozen funds. SECO has received notification of assets and funds totalling approximately 5.750 billion Swiss Francs. This is according to Erwin Bollinger who works for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which oversees sanctions.

He said that there were many properties located in the cantons that served as resorts for tourists.

SECO has not been able to determine the amount of assets that are currently subject to sanctions or have frozen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bollinger pointed out that the cited figure of 5 billion Francs is a snapshot in history. It is possible that this number will increase further with the addition of reports and EU sanctions, as Switzerland might also believe.

Volodymyr Zeleskiy, Ukraine’s President has placed pressure on Switzerland — which is a favourite destination for Moscow’s elite but also holds Russian wealth — in an effort to quickly freeze the assets of hundreds sanctioned Russians.

According to the bank lobby in Switzerland, it holds up to $213 trillion worth of Russian assets.

Finding assets to freeze can prove difficult.

SECO was criticised for not being adequately prepared and well-equipped to deal with the flood of reports flooding the agency. Journalists also quizked officials about other assets that may have been missing.

Bollinger explained that it was impossible to go on an expedition of fishing and get material from every department.

It’s just like road traffic. There are rules to follow, even if there isn’t a police officer at each traffic light.

Some regional officials expressed concern about the application of the sanctions. They pointed out that there were not enough clear guidelines. Bollinger admitted that improvements can be made.

The banks have been combing through bank records in an effort to make sure that none of the sanctions-affected individuals slip through the cracks. Credit Suisse For example, (SIX) has asked permission for 20 compliance personnel to work weekends, holidays, and nights.

Bollinger advised against believing that Russian billions of dollars stored in Switzerland were immune from sanctions.

“Not all sanctioned individuals or entities have assets in Switzerland,” said he. On the other side, not everyone Russian with assets in Switzerland is on the same sanctions list.”

($1 = 0.9320 Swiss francs)