On 25 February 2022, the Swiss Federal Council announced the listing of Russian entities whose funds will be frozen. The new entities subject to this sanction are Bank Rossiya, PROMSVYAZBANK and Vnesheconombank (VEB). The asset freeze enters into force on the same day. 

In particular, these four entities were added to Annex 3 of the Ordinance "On measures related to the situation in Ukraine", which was introduced in the context of the Crimea conflict in 2014.

Bank Rossiya is the personal bank of senior officials of the Russian Federation. PROMSVYAZBANK is a Russian state-owned bank that provides financial support to the defence sector and the military. Finally, Vnesheconombank is a Russian financial development institution that also serves as a source of revenue for its government. Additionally, the economic activities of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg, is unclear. According to the EU, the company is engaged in online influence operations on behalf of the Russian government. This information could not be verified by the company.

This Swiss measure follows the EU Council Regulation (EU) 2022/260, a measure of the sanctions package the EU has adopted on 23 February as a consequence of Russia's recognition of the separatist regions Donetsk and Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine, see the related state act.