Why was the country's determination enough for a month and a half?
Switzerland has unblocked $ 3.4 billion in Russian assets, as previously “frozen” under sanctions against Russia. This can be reported by Reuters.
“We cannot freeze funds if we do not have sufficient grounds,” a senior official of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) told reporters Erwin Bollinger, who oversees the sanctions.
According to Reuters, it's $ 3.4 billion. $ 6.33 billion is still blocked
The United States has already accused Switzerland of “protecting” Russian assets.
In early May, she called Switzerland a “leading accomplice of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his aides” who, according to the commission, used “Swiss secrecy laws to hide and protect the proceeds of their crimes.”
According to the Swiss banking lobby, Swiss banks hold up to $ 213 billion in Russian capital.
Swiss government rejected these accusations “in the strongest possible terms.” And Swiss President Ignacio Cassis has demanded that the US government “immediately correct this misleading impression.”
in March 2022, Switzerland took an almost unprecedented step and decided to abandon neutrality for a while , freezing Russian assets, which included a number of real estate. At the same time, the country stated that it continues to work on finding Russian assets.
However, in April, Switzerland's position began to weaken . In particular, the country has banned Germany from re-exporting its ammunition to Ukraine.
On the other hand, the European Union recognizes that the amount of criminal proceeds in the EU is at least 139 billion euros, but only one percent of that amount can be confiscated.
Therefore, the EU plans to facilitate the confiscation of criminally obtained property. Yes, the bill, which will be proposed by the European Commission in the near future, aims to allow the seizure of criminal proceeds without a court conviction . New measures are planned to be extended to Russian and Belarusian oligarchs and politicians connected with the Russian war in Ukraine.
