U.S. sanctions against Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg led to the freezing of assets of the private business group Renova, the net worth of which is between $1.5 to $2 bln, Reuters reports quoting two sources.
In particular, the dollar bank accounts of companies, which are controlled by Vekselberg’s Renova, are blocked.
In addition, the payroll accounts of the employees of Renova’s Swiss subsidiary were blocked for some time; however, the block was released after conducting necessary checks.
Renova and Vekselberg seek assistance from Swiss government in solving business issues, the sources said, adding that the government of Switzerland furthered exemption from sanctions of Sulzer, which purchased 5 million of its shares in Renova to avoid them.
The European and Swiss banks “are too cautious”, the agency’s source notes.
According to him, “the secondary sanctions have cross-border nature” and can have influence on the position of countries, which do not intend “to copy” restrictive sanctions, imposed by U.S.
On April 6, U.S. imposed sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, 17 top officials and 12 Russian companies. The list, in particular, included Oleg Deripaska, Victor Vekselberg, Suleiman Kerimov, Andrei Kostin and Alexei Miller.
The sanctions provide for the freezing of assets of above-mentioned businesspersons, officials and companies.
