RIA "Novosti" in the article under the heading "Switzerland has not found grounds for the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine" reports :
“The Swiss government has recognized that the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine would be illegal, follows from a statement published on the website of the Federal Council.
“A working group led by the Federal Department of Justice concluded that the confiscation of private Russian assets is not legal under current law. This measure, in particular, would be contrary to constitutional guarantees,” the document says.
In fact, the statement says something different:
“Russia violated international law by attacking Ukraine, and therefore is obliged to pay reparations to Ukraine for the damage caused. Amid international discussions and several parliamentary inquiries, the Federal Council has asked the administration to look into the legal situation regarding assets currently frozen in Switzerland as a result of sanctions against Russia. An internal working group led by the Federal Ministry of Justice informed the Federal Council of its findings.
A working group representing the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the State Secretariat for International Finance and the Department of International Law, led by the Ministry of Justice, concluded that the expropriation of legal private assets without compensation is not allowed under Swiss law. The confiscation of frozen private assets is contrary to the Federal Constitution and the current legal order and violates Switzerland's international obligations. There are similar constitutional rights and guarantees in other countries.
Another issue being discussed at the international level is the possibility of confiscation of the foreign exchange reserves of the Russian Central Bank and other state assets <…>.”
That is, it is impossible to transfer to Ukraine only the assets of private owners, unless it is proved that their origin is illegal. And it is separately emphasized that this does not apply to the assets of the Central Bank. On the issue of the possibility of canceling sovereign immunity in relation to the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which prevents their transfer to Ukraine, there is no decision yet.
In total, the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in European countries are estimated at $ 258 billion, the location of $ 36.4 billion of them has already been established. The EU legal service believes that the frozen funds can be invested and transfer income from investments to Ukraine. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the end of November estimated the damage caused by that time to Ukraine by Russian aggression at €600 billion.
