Swiss Assets: How Russia’s Economic Struggle is Impacting Private Wealth and Stock Prices

Since November 2022, the value of private Russian financial assets blocked in Switzerland has decreased by 1.7 billion francs to 5.8 billion francs, mainly due to the poor price development of Russian stocks. Despite the rise in many share prices since November 2022, foreign currencies have lost value against the Swiss franc, leading to lower values for foreign securities when converted into francs. Asset releases totaling 140 million francs have occurred since November 2022, with new people and companies added to the sanctions list contributing to an increase in blocked assets by 50 million francs.

Reports of suspicion regarding evasion of sanctions have led to 50 administrative criminal proceedings, with 34 cases concluded. The decline in the value of financial assets is surprising given that many share prices have risen since November 2022. However, asset releases totaling 140 million francs and increases in interest rates have contributed to a fall in market values of interest-bearing securities.

In addition to private assets, large assets of the Russian Central Bank are also blocked in the West, with around 300 billion US dollars frozen. This economic and financial damage in Russia has not been sufficient to stop its aggressive actions against Ukraine despite significant damage caused by economic sanctions against Russia’s economy and financial system. The effectiveness of these economic sanctions is indicated by the price drops in Russian stocks and reports of suspicion regarding evasion of sanctions leading to administrative criminal proceedings.