Swiss government has no plans to join G7 sanctions taskforce

The Federal Palace in Swiss capital Bern. Keystone / Lukas Lehmann

Switzerland has resisted pressure to join the international REPO taskforce coordinating western sanctions against Russia.

Authorities have answered a recent letter by ambassadors from G7 countries, declining – for now – a request to join the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) taskforce, Swiss government spokesman André Simonazzi said on Wednesday.

Simonazzi referred to a note published on TuesdayExternal link by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), rejecting criticisms made by the ambassadors in a letter leaked to Swiss press last week.

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For SECO, current cooperation between Switzerland and G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US) is “running smoothly”, and there is “no need to formally join the Task Force at present”.

SECO also repeated that the CHF7.5 billion ($8.35 billion) of Russian assets blocked in Switzerland was “substantial” by international comparison, corresponding to around one-third of what’s blocked in the European Union.

It also called for a better distinction between sanctioned and non-sanctioned assets, which are “repeatedly confused or mixed up”.

“One example of this – frequently cited over the past year – is the estimate by the Swiss Bankers Association that some CHF150-200 billion in assets of Russian individuals and organisations are held by Swiss banks. This unofficial figure is in fact a (very rough) estimate of total Russian assets under management in Switzerland,” it wrote.

US ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller recently suggested that Switzerland could freeze up to CHF100 billion.

+ Miller: “sanctions are only as strong as the political will behind them”

The top US sanctions official, Under Secretary Brian Nelson from the Treasury, was also in Switzerland this week for talks with SECO officials, which he said on Twitter were “constructive”.

Simonazzi said on Wednesday that if, in the future, participation in the REPO taskforce was to be deemed to be in Switzerland’s interest, then the government would re-evaluate the situation.