Under the strict restrictive measures of the United States and the EU, not only oil, gas, coal, but also gold. Switzerland also supported the sanctions — a ban on buying precious metals was introduced in the country. Despite the embargo, a small gap has been left in the legislation, thanks to which local companies continue to trade with the Russian Federation. Whether it was forethought or an accident remains a mystery, but there are other shortcomings in the laws of the European Union that provide an opportunity for European countries to trade with Moscow, writes RIA Novosti columnist Natalia Dembinskaya.
According to the Financial Times, Open Mineral Ltd (registered in Abu Dhabi a year ago and wholly owned by the Swiss Open Mineral AG) imported $44 million worth of precious metal into the United Arab Emirates from August to January. Such transactions, as it turned out, are quite legitimate due to gaps in the law.
In addition to precious metal, Switzerland's Paramount Energy & Commodities (which owns Dubai-based Paramount Energy and Commodities DMCC) continues to trade in Russian oil, and at a cost higher than that supplied by the G7 countries.
How justification, Swiss politicians claim the legal independence of firms registered abroad.
In May 2022, about 3 tons of gold worth $200 million were imported into Switzerland from the United Kingdom. In this case, the sending country is considered the importer, regardless that the documents contained information about the Russian origin of the precious metal.