Never before had so much Russian gold been imported as in February.

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Swiss imports from Russia skyrocketed in February. This is due to significantly higher purchases of Russian gold. Since gold is purchased from the London precious metals market and transported to Switzerland, it is not covered by EU sanctions.

On Tuesday, the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (BAZG) reported that imports from Russia in February 2023 were CHF 1,052 million. More than a billion of this was gold of Russian origin. In total, Switzerland bought 18.9 tons of precious metals, originally from Russia.

Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (70) should be happy about that. Due to sanctions, Russia can no longer export refined petroleum products to Switzerland or Europe. Now he wants to make up for the missing income with gold. And Russia still has a lot on its hands: According to the Ministry of Finance, the state has 551 tons of gold in reserves, as Blick wrote in early February.

I have never imported so much Russian gold

Gold imports from Russia have never been higher than in February since the Federal Agency for Customs and Border Security started recording in 2021! For example, in January 2023, only 5.6 tons of Russian gold was imported into Switzerland, with a total value of CHF 312 million – three times less.

However, the gold market should not be saturated yet. Gold is considered a safe investment in uncertain times. Since the bank earthquake and the consequent takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, the price of gold has risen significantly again.

One thing is for sure: Switzerland is the world’s largest center for smelting gold. It is therefore not surprising that so much gold is imported. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gold imports from Russia dried up and rebounded from the autumn of 2022.

“Everything is OK”

According to statistics from the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security, 4.1 of the 18.9 tonnes of gold in February was for “other purposes”, ie not for refining or further processing. That said, it’s all here, explaining BAZG on request. There is no sanction violation.

For legal reasons, BAZG is not allowed to provide information about gold importers. Refineries based in Ticino and western Switzerland – Argor Heraeus, Metalor, MKS Pamp and Valcambi – process 70 percent of the gold mined worldwide, according to WWF estimates. (SDA/kae)

Source :Blick