US investigates Russian accounts in Switzerland's largest bank

The United States is investigating UBS's Russian clients. The situation changed after the purchase of Credit Suisse, which strengthened control over one of the world's largest asset managers.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Reuters.

The US sanctions enforcement agency OFAC has written to the bank as part of this investigation, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, said the Swiss bank and the enforcer had held talks.

According to one of the sources, OFAC, the world's most powerful sanctions agency, sent a letter to UBS in recent weeks.

The inspection concerns the Russian clients of Credit Suisse, which are now the responsibility of UBS after the lender's rescue. Credit Suisse collapsed in March 2023 after years of scandals ranging from espionage to drug money laundering.

According to one source, UBS is seeking to limit the possible consequences of OFAC's requests by blocking suspicious money and closing accounts to avoid the threat of a fine.

The United States uses sanctions as a foreign policy tool, imposing restrictions to curb the activities of countries such as Russia and Iran.

Dealing with Russian money has become even riskier after the United States and its Western allies imposed an unprecedented network of sanctions in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

While the U.S. official praised UBS for its cooperation, one other source said it was made clear that failure to deal with the issue could be punished. Regulators in Switzerland are closely scrutinizing how UBS handles Credit Suisse clients and the bank's anti-money laundering policies as they are concerned that the Swiss bank may be exposed to risky clients.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 13/11/2024