In a further reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland is adopting additional sanctions imposed by the EU, the Federal Council announced on Wednesday, and primarily affecting gold and gold products.

There was already a ban on buying, importing, or transporting gold and gold products from Russia, but services related to these goods are now also prohibited in Switzerland, coming into force at 6 pm today. In the EU, the measures have been in force since July 21.

Important Refining Hub

Switzerland is an important hub in the international gold trade, with refineries responsible for a large part of global gold processing.

Last June, an announcement from the Federal Customs Administration caused an uproar, whereby more than three tons of gold from Russia, had been imported into Switzerland from Great Britain in May. Initially, Switzerland's four major gold smelters denied having accepted the precious metal.

New Sberbank Sanctions

However, according to the directive of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), Russian refiners may continue to trade gold and silver produced before March 7, 2022. With the new regulations, such transactions are now likely to become even more delicate for Swiss players.

Switzerland also joined in imposing tighter sanctions against Russia's Sberbank. The current measures of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) at the Swiss subsidiary Sberbank (Switzerland) have been extended to the beginning of September.