Swiss target holiday home in hurried clampdown on Russian oligarchs
Swiss authorities have identified a luxury mountain home believed to be owned by a Russian oligarch as bankers and officials work overtime to track assets of people linked to Moscow in retribution for the invasion of Ukraine.
The Bern cantonal property office said it believed the flat belonged to Petr Aven, identified by Switzerland as a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a major shareholder of the group that owns Russia’s biggest private bank, Alfa.
The three-bedroom flat is on the fifth floor of a luxury complex at a golf resort in the picturesque Bernese Oberland, surrounded by snowy peaks, according to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
Aven, 67, did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment but last month he said he would contest “spurious and unfounded” European Union sanctions adopted by Switzerland.
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Switzerland backs full EU sanctions against Russia
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Switzerland has decided to adopt the full range of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia.
Priding itself on being neutral in international affairs, Switzerland has an outsized wealth management business and is a major trading hub for Russian commodities. Its banks hold up to $213 billion (CHF200 billion) of Russian wealth, the bank lobby estimates.
After initial hesitation, Switzerland embraced EU sanctions on hundreds of Russians on Feb. 28. It has since expanded its list to comply fully with the EU’s measures.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged Switzerland to confiscate assets of people he said were helping wage war. Poland echoed that on Monday.
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Ukraine’s embattled leader urges Swiss banks to drop Russian oligarchs
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The embattled leader urged Switzerland to take a stronger stance on Russian oligarchs, saying they help finance war crimes in his country.
Banks are combing through records to ensure no one under sanctions slips through the cracks. Credit Suisse, for instance, has sought permission to let 20 compliance staff work nights, weekends and holidays.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), responsible for enforcing sanctions, has been swamped with reports of Russian assets.
Property registrars across Switzerland have been laboriously trying to match sanctions lists against property records name-by-name, often with various spellings.
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Swiss media on the lookout for Putin’s alleged mistress – and Russian oligarchs
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Switzerland’s weekend press focused on the whereabouts of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged mistress and blacklisted oligarchs.
Ecological status of Swiss streams insufficient according to study
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Pesticide use and obstructions of waterways have a particularly negative impact on sensitive organisms, completely absent in 70% of streams analysed.
Train line between Brig and Domodossola interrupted
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One day after a derailment approximately 15 kilometres from the Swiss border, BLS is running buses for passengers between Preglia and Domodossola, in Italy.
Swiss football boss wants crackdown on individual hooligans
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The head of the Swiss Football League says he prefers a harsher approach to individual hooligans rather than collective punishment measures affecting all fans.
Amherd: Council of Europe is ‘as urgently needed as ever’
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The Swiss government emphasised on Sunday the vital role of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, 75 years after it was founded.
Swiss minister: Italy will back Switzerland in EU talks
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Bern can count on the backing of Italy as it re-enters talks with the European Union on future relations, Viola Amherd says.
Student protestors at University of Lausanne continue pro-Palestine sit-in
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Since Thursday, a hall on campus has been occupied by students calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a ceasefire in Gaza.
What the Ukraine war means for Switzerland’s energy policy
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Switzerland gets almost half of its gas from Russia. An analysis of how the country's energy policy is being affected by the war in Ukraine.
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