Image: (REUTERS)
In July, US senators accused Swiss banks of using the commodities industry to help Russia circumvent sanctions. On Monday, US Treasury officials met with the Commodity Trading Association in Geneva. Officially, it was about the consequences of the sanctions on the global energy supply.
There are around 900 companies in Switzerland that are active in commodity trading. Some still trade in refined Russian petroleum products. The Geneva-based company Fractal, founded in February 2022, continues to transport Russian crude oil to China and India. This is legal as long as the maximum price of $60 per barrel is respected. So far, there has been no supervisory authority for Swiss commodity trading.
The Swiss organization Public Eye found that before the war, 50 to 60 percent of Russia’s oil trade with Europe went through Switzerland. US senators accuse Swiss banks of helping to hide Russian black money. The Swiss Ministry of Economic Affairs defends itself: All international standards to combat money laundering and tax evasion are being implemented. A national law with further tightening is being planned.
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