The government of Switzerland refused to confiscate frozen Russian assets. A special task force concluded that this would violate the countryʼs Constitution.
This is stated in the statement of the Federal Council of Switzerland.
After international discussions and several requests from the parliament, the Federal Council asked the administration to study the legal situation regarding the assets that are currently frozen in Switzerland due to sanctions against Russia. The Swiss created a working group under the leadership of the Federal Department of Justice. She decided that the confiscation of private Russian assets contradicts the countryʼs Constitution.
"The expropriation of private assets of legitimate origin without compensation is unacceptable under Swiss law. The confiscation of frozen private assets contradicts the Federal Constitution and the current legal order and violates Switzerlandʼs international obligations," the statement reads.
At the same time, the Swiss government emphasized that they will continue to support Ukraine, regardless of the discussions regarding frozen Russian assets.
- Switzerlandʼs neutrality is one of the main principles of the countryʼs foreign policy, which states that Switzerland has no right to participate in armed or political conflicts between other states. However, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland joined the EU sanctions.
- According to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, Switzerland has already frozen 7.5 billion francs ($8.2 billion) in Russian assets.
- Under current Swiss law, assets cannot be confiscated. A referendum is needed to change the law. The NZZ newspaper wrote that the banks were very critical of this idea, as it could violate property rights and undermine Switzerlandʼs status as a financial center. Bankers consider this a "death sentence" for Swiss banks.