Geneva, St. Moritz – Four Russian oligarchs in Switzerland hit by sanctions
Released
The Federal Council followed suit again this week and adopted a new round of EU sanctions. Several people who live here are affected. But the authorities cannot take action against them so easily.
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Switzerland announced further sanctions against people close to the Kremlin this week.
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So far, oligarchs have been spared in this country – but now it has hit four people.
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However, it is still unknown how the penal measures will differ in concrete terms.
Switzerland followed suit again this week and adopted new EU sanctions against Russian citizens. Several people living here or those who have connections to Switzerland are affected, such as the Tamedia newspapers to report. The first round of sanctions did not include anyone related to Switzerland.
According to the Tamedia newspapers, 386 people with a so-called “golden visa” live in Switzerland – 85 of them are Russians. This privilege is usually granted to people with particularly high tax bases. One of these people is Andrei Melnitschenko, who lives in St. Moritz and is the second richest man in the canton of Graubünden after Magdalena Martullo-Blocher. In the list of the richest people living in Switzerland, he made it to eleventh place. It also hit the Pumpianski family. Father Dimitri, 34-year-old son Alexander and his wife have lived in Geneva for years.
Swiss authorities do not know the current whereabouts
Actually, entry bans and sanctions would now apply to all four people. However, this is not so easy to do. Alexander Pumpianski, for example, has a Swiss passport. According to the Tamedia newspapers, Andrei Melnitschenko will take legal action against possible action by the Swiss authorities. How this wants to tackle the implementation of the sanctions remains unclear at the moment. According to the Tamedia newspapers, the authorities also do not know the current whereabouts of the four people.
The Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) is responsible for the investigations. The Tamedia newspapers also asked about another person: Alina Kabaeva. For years there has been speculation as to whether the former professional gymnast and alleged lover of Russian President Vladimir Putin has temporarily stayed in this country. In 2015 she is said to have given birth to Putin’s child in a private clinic in Lugano. According to the authorities, however, neither a possible stay of Kabaeva in this country nor a birth can be confirmed.
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