Swiss authorities have reported an increase in the value of Russia's frozen assets

The value of Russian assets frozen in Switzerland due to economic sanctions against Moscow has increased to 7.4 billion Swiss francs ($8.38 billion), Reuters reports, citing a statement from the country's government.

A year ago, the cost was 5.8 billion francs. According to the government statement, the increase was due to the identification and blocking of additional funds.

The Swiss Ministry of Economy, in turn, pointed to the ongoing criminal investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office into alleged violations of sanctions and money laundering, which accounted for the majority of the newly blocked assets. The agency refused to disclose the details.

The authorities clarified that the frozen assets of the Russian Federation include real estate, airplanes and works of art.

"Russian business has learned how to work under sanctions"

Vladimir Putin spoke at the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Main quotes

On March 31, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and France expressed their readiness to impose new sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. Among other things, the states called for the preservation of frozen Russian assets until the end of the conflict and compensation for damage to the Ukrainian side.

French President Emmanuel Macron said at a press conference following the summit of the Coalition of the Willing on March 27 that the participating countries had unanimously decided that the time had not yet come to lift sanctions against Russia. He stressed that such a policy would not work until peace could be established in Ukraine.