ALBAWABA - According to a statement released by the Swiss government’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) on Wednesday, there are currently 99 million Swiss francs worth of frozen Syrian assets in Switzerland ($112 million), as reported by Reuters, the majority of have been barred for years.
Since 2011, when sanctions on Syria were imposed in conjunction with the European Union (EU) due to extensive breaches of human rights, these assets linked to people and organizations connected to the fallen Assad administration have remained frozen.
318 people and 87 organizations are included in the sanctions report; however, Seco has not confirmed if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's assets are on the list, denying to confirm according to AFP.
Three Syrian government ministers were also added to Switzerland's sanctions list just this week. These officials have been banned from entering the country after being accused of taking part in the violent suppression of civilians, Swiss Info reports.
Since Swiss banks started pulling out of Syria in the early 2000s, Switzerland-Syria financial relations have severely deteriorated. The amount of Syrian assets in Switzerland's banking industry has significantly decreased as a result, combined with sanctions that have been in place since 2011.
The original value of the frozen Syrian assets amounted to CHF130 million ($147 million), however this sum has fluctuated in response to changes in the value of securities, volatility in currency rates, and the removal of specific sanctioned individuals or businesses from the list.
Switzerland has long been a shelter for governments and people who desire to evade public scrutiny of their fund. This is due to the fact that its banks adhere to a policy of secrecy that has been praised internationally, as AFP reports.
