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The Swiss Banking Association estimates that Russian clients have a combined $213 billion in assets held in Swiss secret banks.
The Swiss Banking Association (SBA) estimated that deposits of Russian customers in accounts outside Switzerland totaled about 150 billion to 200 billion Swiss francs ($213 billion), Reuters and CNA reported.
Switzerland is the world‘s largest offshore wealth center, and newly disclosed amounts show that Russian billionaires have far more business dealings with Swiss banks than are exposed on financial institutions’ balance sheets.
This disclosure by the Swiss Banking Association is rather rare. Switzerland, which has traditionally ignored many demands for transparency, took the rare step of applying EU sanctions on Russian funds after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Swiss public is increasingly questioning the role of the Swiss authorities in the war. Social Democrat co-chairman Mayer called on the authorities to withhold any funds belonging to the Russian government, Russian President Vladimir Putin and those around him.
“Those rich Russians are loyal to the Kremlin and their funds and activities … will finance the war,” she said, adding that Switzerland “must do everything possible to cut off their cash flow”.
Estimates by the Swiss Banking Association reveal the scale of sanctions imposed on Russia, including freezing funds.
With Switzerland’s growing sanctions list and authorities still counting bank reports, there is no meaningful estimate of the size of the freeze on Russian assets, the economy ministry said.
Although the Swiss Banking Association gave estimates, it also emphasized that compared with the wealth of the world‘s richest people in Switzerland, the tax haven, for generations, the assets of Russia’s richest people are only a drop in the bucket.
“Russian clients account for roughly the first single-digit percentage of overall cross-border assets with Swiss banks,” the Swiss Banking Association said in an emailed statement to Reuters on the 21st.