Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has imposed sanctions to prevent financial institutions from facilitating Russian citizens. In recent actions, many financial companies, including crypto companies, have faced legal action by the US authorities resulting in large fines.
This time, the DOJ is investigating two Swiss financial companies, Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG, to examine whether their financial channels helped Russian users evade the sanctions imposed. According to Bloomberg, US authorities recently issued subpoenas (court orders asking people to appear in court) against the banking company requesting information.
In addition, the report affirms that subpoenas have been sent out before took over UBS of Credit Suisse, adding that many other large institutions have received subpoenas from US authorities in the same round.
The DOJ’s investigation into the platform is to determine whether the bank’s personnel facilitated approved users and how they vetted them over the past several years. Anyone identified as violating federal law will be subject to further investigation by US authorities.
Credit Suisse Served Russia Best Before the War
Before the war between Ukraine and Russia started, Credit Suisse was known as a well-known platform serving Russia. In particular, at the height of its success, the Swiss Bank earned between $500 million and $600 million a year from Russian users by managing around $60 billion in assets.
And when the Swiss financial firm Credit Suisse closed its operations with Russia in May 2022, it held more than $33 billion from Russian individuals. The firm manages a large portion of the wealth compared to competitor UBS which owns less than 50% of the fund.
Previously, BNP Paribas plead guilty for the cost of processing transactions with companies from the sanctioned area and agreed to pay a fine of $9 billion. Sanctions areas facilitated by Paris-based BNP Paribas include Iran, Sudan, and Cuba.
US Continues To Impose Sanctions In War With Russia
The US authorities have continuously imposed sanctions on Russia over the past few years. Even the Department of Finance designated Russian oligarchs and Vlamdire Putin’s inner circle, rely on many companies, to increase the sanctions.
After the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the DOJ established special task force named ‘KleptoCapture.’ The team is aimed at enforcing the sanctions imposed on the Russian oligarchs.
According to a Treasury Department report published this month, authorities have confiscated more than $58 billion from oligarchs around the world. The seizures included six properties in New York and Florida valued at $75 million and two luxury yachts in San Diego and Fiji valued at $600 million. All these assets are owned by one oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg.
Option images from Pixabay and charts from TradingView.com