The Swiss government has blocked Russian assets worth 7.5 billion francs ($8.1 billion), TASS reported, citing the official representative of the State Secretariat of Economy (SECO) of the country Marxus Sporndli.

At the same time Sporndli noted that the Ministry of Economy of the country refrains from comments concerning the blocking by Credit Suisse Bank of Russian assets for 17.6 billion Swiss francs (more than $19 billion).

He said the data reported by Credit Suisse includes not only funds blocked because of Swiss sanctions, but also funds belonging to individuals and organizations subject to sanctions in other countries. "Therefore, the Ministry of Economy cannot comment on this data," he added.

The publications Le Temps and Sonntags Zeitung previously reported that 7.5 billion francs were officially frozen in Switzerland after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. Of the frozen Credit Suisse funds, about 4 billion francs, as noted, belongs to the citizens caught under the Swiss sanctions, and the remaining 13.6 billion francs are owned, including people against whom other states have imposed restrictions. This amount also includes blocked funds of the Russian Central Bank.

Switzerland has joined all EU sanctions, which were imposed after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.