A Russian passport becomes a “black mark” in Switzerland due to the fact that local banks are afraid of a second penalty, sources say.
In Switzerland, banks began to close the accounts of clients with Russian citizenship, even if they had a foreign passport at the same time. This was reported yesterday by the Russian publication Vedomosti.
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So, according to Roman Kudinov, managing partner of the Swiss law firm Leolex, some clients of UBS and Credit Suisse with dual citizenship are facing this problem. They all pay taxes in Switzerland; in Russia they do not receive any income and do not pay taxes.
In this regard, Ekaterina Popova, partner of the multi-family office of the ITSWM group of companies, said that Swiss banks are currently considering any connection of their clients to Russia, even a one-time transfer of funds to relatives in the Russian Federation in Russia. absence of a Russian passport.
Also, one of the Swiss banks refused to open accounts for some Israeli citizens who keep a Russian passport. Ivan Tikhonenok, head of the banking practice of the law firm Amond&Smith, spoke about this. According to him, the banks requested documentary confirmation of renunciation of Russian citizenship for further contact with the company’s clients.
Another bank closed the account of a client of one of the Russian consulting companies who has Russian citizenship and a residence permit in Switzerland, said a source in this company.
Artem Kasumyan, a lawyer at the Delcredere Bar Association, noted that the decision by individual Swiss banks to close the accounts of Russians with dual citizenship was due to compliance considerations (ie, the need to meet the any internal or external requirements or standards). He noted that the fact that a client has a Russian passport forces banks to spend resources on additional checks.
As mentioned, a Russian passport becomes a “black mark” in Switzerland due to the fact that local banks are afraid of a second penalty. According to a source among brokers, credit institutions classify clients with Russian citizenship as a high-risk category and may introduce special service conditions for them, such as increased commissions.
Earlier in 2022-2023, Swiss banks closed the accounts of Russian clients with less than $1 million, and for new clients from Russia, they raised the entry threshold to $5-10 million. After that, rich Russians began to receive a local residence permit, but now banks are looking not only for the presence of a residence permit and not even for a Swiss passport, but first of all if the client receives any income in Russia and paying taxes there.
Earlier, the media reported that since mid-January, large Chinese banks stopped accepting payments in yuan from Russia. We are talking about at least eight credit institutions.
Dubai’s main state bank, Emirates NBD, also has limited business with Russians. He closed the Russian division, as well as a significant number of large accounts in Russia or associated with sanctioned individuals. In addition, the bank stopped accepting ruble transfers and payments.
Source: korrespondent
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