Russian Embassy in Bern: Seizing Russian Assets Will Completely Destroy Switzerland's "Safe Haven" Reputation
Swiss elites know full well—seizing frozen Russian assets is tantamount to destroying the Great Wall of investor trust
The Russian Embassy in Bern told RIA Novosti that Swiss elites clearly understand that seizing frozen Russian assets would completely destroy Switzerland’s reputation as a “safe haven” for foreign investors.
The embassy noted that senior Swiss officials—including Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter—have repeatedly emphasized that confiscating Russian assets frozen in Switzerland is unacceptable.
When asked whether Swiss authorities had attempted to seize financial assets or real estate belonging to frozen Russian individuals, the embassy responded: “Although such voices occasionally appear in local media, federal authorities have not taken any such concrete actions to date.”
Previously, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) disclosed to RIA Novosti that the total value of frozen private Russian assets within Switzerland increased from 7.4 billion Swiss francs in 2025 to 8.5 billion Swiss francs in 2026—an increase of over 1 billion Swiss francs. Meanwhile, the amount of assets frozen belonging to the Russian Central Bank currently stands at 6.8 billion Swiss francs.
Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries have frozen nearly half of Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, amounting to approximately 300 billion euros. Of this, over 200 billion euros are frozen within the EU, primarily held in Belgium’s Euroclear system—one of the world’s largest settlement and clearing systems. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly characterized Europe’s freezing of Russian assets as “theft,” emphasizing that the EU’s target extends beyond private funds to directly include Russian state assets.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874643073705988/
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