Swiss report large drop in frozen Russian assets

Switzerland has frozen Russian assets worth 5.8 billion Swiss francs ($6.36 billion), the government said on Tuesday, a big drop that could intensify international pressure on the neutral country to do more to sanction Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The main reason was a decrease in the market value of the shares and other financial assets which have been blocked, said the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which oversees sanctions. Still, the decline is likely to spark criticism from abroad that Switzerland is not doing enough to impose sanctions designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.