Switzerland found no grounds for transferring private Russian assets to Ukraine

The Swiss Ministry of Justice did not find legal grounds for confiscating private assets frozen in the country's banks on the accounts of Russian citizens and transferring them to Ukraine for restoration. This is stated in the message of the ministry.

A working group set up within the ministry concluded that the confiscation of private assets of legitimate origin without compensation is "unacceptable under Swiss law", contrary to the Constitution and the "existing legal order", and violates the country's international obligations.

We are talking only about private accounts and property, the owners of which fell under sanctions, and not about Russian state assets.

The report emphasizes that Russia violated international law by attacking Ukraine, therefore, according to the Swiss Ministry of Justice, it is obliged to pay reparations for the damage caused to it.

• Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland has frozen 7.5 billion Swiss francs (about $7.9 billion) of Russian assets, as well as 15 properties in six cantons.
• On February 15, EU countries approved the formation of a working group on the use of frozen and seized Russian assets to support the restoration of Ukraine. The group will consider whether the use of these funds is consistent with EU and international law.
• Bloomberg wrote that Swiss banks do not support the idea of ​​confiscating frozen Russian assets and using them to restore Ukraine. In their opinion, ignoring property rights could undermine the authority of Switzerland as a financial center, as well as become a "death sentence" for the Swiss banking system.