Several tons of Russian gold disappeared in Switzerland: after being imported into the country, none of the local companies that could work with such volumes of the precious metal announced that they had received it. This is stated in the message of the local association of producers and sellers of precious metals (AFCMP).
The association expressed the hope that none of the local companies are associated with "doubtful gold from Russia", and said that it will continue to monitor gold imports to Switzerland to prevent the import of precious metals of dubious origin.
“While Swiss law and sanctions do not prohibit the importation of Russian gold into Switzerland, the ASFCMP would like to reiterate that questionable gold has no place in Switzerland and expects its members to exercise the utmost caution and refrain from purchasing in the event of any suspicion,” the statement said. associations.
The export of 3.1 tons of gold from Russia to Switzerland became known from customs statistics, which drew the attention of Bloomberg, this was the first delivery of the precious metal from Russia since the beginning of the war. The customs declaration stated that the gold was intended for refining (cleaning) and further processing, which, according to Bloomberg, suggests that one of the local enterprises should take it. However, the data of the association indicate that after the import of gold into the country, it is no longer possible to track its whereabouts.
Before the war, Switzerland was one of the largest importers of Russian gold: in January, 4 tons were imported from Russia, and in December 2021, a record 4.6 tons. Switzerland did not impose sanctions on Russian gold, but Russian supplies are considered “toxic” for the whole world. In 2021, Russia exported 302.2 tons of gold worth $17.4 billion.