Ukraine. The United States was “attracted” by the search for Russian funds in Switzerland.

The U.S. ambassador to Switzerland praised Switzerland’s “tremendous progress” in seeking Russian funding from Swiss banks.

The United States is pleased with Switzerland’s efforts so far to raise funds from the Russians allowed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. US Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller confirmed this in a statement issued on Thursday. Interview with “Le Temps” newspaper.

In his opinion, Switzerland has made “tremendous progress”: “We value Switzerland’s role in sanctions … this is the world, to be honest, a set of sanctions of magnitude and magnitude never seen before.”

By May 12, Switzerland had frozen a total of 6.3 billion francs of Russian funds, according to Erwin Polinger, head of the Department of Bilateral Economic Relations at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (CECO). At the beginning of April, that amount was 7.5 billion francs, but 3.4 billion francs was frozen very quickly. Another 2.2 billion francs were found between these two dates.

Earlier in May, Bill Powder, an expert on the US Congress and the Helsinki Committee of the US Government, accused Switzerland of not being interested in pursuing Russian assets. He called on the United States to reconsider the framework for its cooperation with Bern.

U.S. Ambassador Scott Miller gave a reassuring comment in an interview with “Le Temps”. “The Helsinki Commission is an independent body, devoid of constitutional powers and not a government body.” Those who spoke there did not represent the official position of US President Joe Biden’s government.

In an interview with the NZZ in early April, Miller called on Swiss banks to take a closer look at Russian oligarchy money. Non-cooperating banks will have to reckon with the negative consequences.

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