MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. One of Switzerland’s largest banks Credit Suisse has denied reports saying that it froze accounts of its Russian clients. A spokesman with the bank told TASS that the bank "reclassified certain assets that came under sanctions" and this activity did not affect Russian clients.
"Credit Suisse cooperates with international regulators in jurisdictions where the bank conducts business, observing regulatory norms, which also includes sanctions against Russia. Following recent sanctions, as well as regulatory restrictions on the part of the United States, Credit Suisse reclassified certain assets that fall under these restrictions from Assets under Management to Assets under Custody. Such reclassification does not mean freezing assets," the bank’s spokesman stressed.
This change did not affect the assets of the bank's customers who are not under sanctions, the bank’s representative noted.
"This has not led to any financial losses and the formation of reserves. The Russian market is one of our priorities, and we continue to monitor the situation closely," the spokesman said.
Earlier Reuters reported that Credit Suisse had frozen roughly 5 bln Swiss francs ($5 bln) of money linked to Russia to avoid falling foul of U.S. sanctions.
On August 22 the US planned to impose new sanctions on Russia over its alleged involvement in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the British city of Salisbury.
First of all, Washington introduces a ban on the supply of dual-use products to Moscow.
On August 2, US senators from both parties submitted a new bill tightening anti-Russia sanctions to the Congress. Particularly, the document stipulates expansion of restrictions against Russia’s energy and financial sectors, its tycoons and state-run enterprises, as well as sanctions against Russia’s sovereign debt. It also imposes a ban on granting licenses to US citizens for participation in activities related to certain oil production projects in the Russian Federation. The bill also targets introduction of sectoral sanctions against persons acting in the cyberspace.