Putin’s secret assets could be at risk in the world’s ‘most neutral’ country

Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly called for the creation of a new European security architecture ahead of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia wanted to freeze, or perhaps withdraw, NATO expansion. The report said Russia must win new security from its Western rivals and become the center of a new understanding of power on the continent. The Kremlin’s demands were rejected by NATO leaders, and then the Russian government rolled the dice with its disastrous attack on Ukraine.

The two-year war has certainly redrawn Europe’s geopolitical map, but it has not benefited the Kremlin. Sweden and Finland have joined NATO, the West has launched a major sanctions offensive against Russia, and Ukraine and Moldova have begun the long road to joining the European Union. While fatigue cracks have surfaced, the West has proven more resilient than the Kremlin had hoped.

Even Europe’s most staunchly neutral countries are feeling the effects of the war.

Switzerland has countered centuries of non-alignment by introducing EU sanctions against Russia and authorizing the re-export of some Swiss-made weapons and munitions to Ukraine through third parties. However, the Bern government refuses to provide weapons directly to Kiev.

There is even growing pressure in Congress for the government to sign off on a transatlantic proposal to seize and hand over frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, a move that undermines the country’s tradition as a center for private and sometimes illicit finance. This measure is in contrast to the traditional and advantageous role played by the government. transaction.

Such a move could even put at risk Putin’s own property, at least some of which is said to be stored in or moved through Switzerland in the name of allies.

Last month, the Swiss parliament’s upper house voted 21-19 in favor of several motions passed by the lower house late last year, allowing the government to begin forming a legal basis for using frozen invading state assets. did. Pay compensation to the victim country.

“The facts are very clear,” Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told the Senate. “Russia committed a serious violation of international law. Therefore, the damage caused must be repaired. International discussions on compensation mechanisms are underway, and Switzerland has all the knowledge, technology and history in this field. I am taking advantage of this to participate.”

Switzerland still operates within the bounds of the 1993 Federal White Paper on Neutrality, which set out the country’s non-alignment policy, said Swiss diplomat Thomas Greminger, former Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). )-said newsweek.

“In short, Switzerland’s response adheres to the core of neutrality: its legal obligation not to militarily support one side over another, while making the most of all the flexibility that a neutrality policy offers states. “I was doing it,” Greminger said. He explained that he is currently the director of the Geneva Center for Security Policy, a think tank.

This flexible neutrality allows Chancellor Bern to “make clear from the beginning that neutrality does not mean indifference in the defense of international law, the rule of law, human rights and democratic values.” He said he was able to do so.

The country has long worked with NATO through the Partnership for Peace program and is currently participating in the European Skyshield initiative. The initiative, originally proposed by Germany in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is a pan-national effort to create an integrated European network of ballistic missile defense. Missiles and other air threats.

A 2023 poll found that 55% of Swiss respondents (a record high) supported a move towards “closer relations” with NATO, an increase of 3 points from 2022 and an increase from 2021, before the Russian invasion. It has increased by 10 points since 2017.

Swiss President and Defense Minister Viola Amherd said this week that a direct attack by Russia would mark the end of Switzerland’s era of neutrality.

President Putin’s “wallet”

Perhaps the biggest role Switzerland could play is on the sanctions front. The government announced in December that it had frozen about $8.81 billion in assets belonging to Russians since the start of the war. This is just a fraction of the total assets held by Russians living in Switzerland, which is estimated to be worth more than $164 billion, according to the Swiss Bankers Association.

newsweek contacted the Swiss Economy Ministry via email for comment.

Some of these Russians have been accused of acting as Putin’s “wallet” and accumulating vast amounts of wealth on behalf of Russian strongmen, but their secret assets, all combined, would make it possible for Putin to control the world. It is speculated that he will become the richest person in the world.

Swiss prosecutors last year charged four Swiss-based Gazprom Bank executives with manslaughter for allegedly mishandling funds from Sergei Roldugin. A musician who was the godfather of President Putin’s daughter and had a fortune of about $50 million.

Gremminger said the country’s alignment with EU actions against Kremlin-linked Russians could be a headache for Putin and his allies, especially if the government heeds pressure from the public and parliament for further action. He said it could become a seed.

“Official government policy still maintains that Switzerland freezes a relatively large number of Russian assets and cooperates internationally on many platforms,” ​​he said. However, the Bern government is hesitant about seizing the frozen funds.

“The government is under some pressure here,” Gremminger said. Greminger added that the government’s current sanctions policy is being led by Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, a member of the populist and isolationist Swiss People’s Party (SVP), who opposes measures against Russia. added.

The party is considered close to the country’s powerful banking sector. “If the department had been in different hands, the policies might have been more progressive,” Greminger continued.

On Friday, activists, supported by 130,000 certified signatures, launched a petition calling for a new vote on the Neutrality Initiative, which would end the Bern government’s involvement in international sanctions against Russia. The move was supported by the senior vice president, who said in a statement that “the gradual erosion of neutrality is a threat to Switzerland’s internal and external security.”

Still, the ground appears fertile for further pro-Kiev action. A 2023 survey of Swiss voters found that 91% of respondents supported continued neutrality, but 75% thought current sanctions against Russia were compatible with the previous position.

The increased pressure on the government is “clearly due to the broad solidarity of the Swiss people against Ukraine,” Greminger said, as well as the push for further commitment by Switzerland’s NATO and EU allies. .

“I speak about Ukraine in public, in panel discussions, etc.,” he added. “I feel that there is dissatisfaction among most Swiss people that these loopholes still exist.”