The upper house of the Swiss parliament has supported the government’s proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, France24 reports. More than $8 billion of the Russian central bank is kept in this country.
Twenty-one MPs voted in favor of this proposal, 19 were against, and three abstained. The Lower House passed the bill last year.
As a result, the Swiss government was allowed to create a legal mechanism that provides for the transfer of frozen funds of the aggressor’s central bank or the assets of its state-owned companies to the affected states.
“The facts are very clear indeed. Russia has seriously violated international law. Therefore, it must compensate for the damage caused,” said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
Bern has blocked the movement of 7.4 billion francs ($7.8 billion) in foreign currency assets owned by the Russian central bank. The frozen assets are only a fraction of the total wealth held by Russians in Switzerland: according to the Swiss Bankers Association, it is 150 billion francs.
At the same time, Swiss banks were very critical of the idea of confiscation. “Such a disregard for property rights would undermine Switzerland’s position as a financial center,” the NZZ newspaper reported, citing an unnamed banker. Another called it a “death penalty” for Swiss banks.
Politico newspaper, citing sources, reported that the US and the EU cannot agree on how to use frozen Russian assets because of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Washington insists on full confiscation, while the EU countries propose to use only the proceeds of the assets.
On January 29, the EU permanent representatives supported the European Commission’s plan to separate the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to be used for Ukraine’s recovery.
The European Commission’s plan stipulates that profits earned by Euroclear will be recorded separately and will not be paid as dividends to shareholders until EU countries unanimously decide to establish a financial contribution to the budget to be collected from these net profits to support Ukraine.
We are talking about about €260 billion of sovereign assets held in the G7 countries, the EU, and Australia. At least two-thirds of these funds have already been identified: €210 billion in financial institutions Euroclear and Clear Street in Belgium and Luxembourg. Another €50 billion is in France and Germany, and between $5 billion and $8 billion in the United States. Several dozen more are in other G7 countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada.
