Monday, 5 June, 2023
E-paper

West losing Russian gold

A number of countries are snapping up Russian gold bullion after Western governments closed their markets as part of Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The G7, EU and Switzerland, a major gold hub with a traditionally neutral stance, banned Russian gold imports last summer in an effort to damage the country's $20 billion gold industry.

Prior to the sanctions, London was the top destination for Russian gold. Now, since major gold-buying banks such as JPMorgan Chase and HSBC Holdings stopped trading Russian precious metals, numerous small players from logistics companies to dealers have stepped in, Bloomberg wrote.

Exports from the sanctioned country have been rerouted to the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Türkiye, which have not joined Western restrictions, the outlet said, citing data from trade-tracking firm ImportGenius, based on Russian customs figures for the six months through August, reports RT.

Western sanctions have blocked Russian gold from their own markets and banned merchants from dealing with it. But companies in other countries are not prohibited from trading the precious metal as there are no secondary sanctions.