According to The Moscow Times, Swiss banks have frozen $1 billion in assets belonging to Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg for fear the United States will levy large fines now that Vekselberg is under sanctions.
Vekselberg, Russia’s ninth richest man with an estimated net worth of $14.4 billion, was one of several Russian businessmen hit by U.S. sanctions this year for alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and other “malign activity.” The tycoon has since been forced to cut his shares in foreign companies and repay more than $1 billion in loans made by European banks including JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and UBS.
Vekselberg is preparing to file lawsuits against UBS, Credit Suisse and Julius Baer to recover access to his accounts, Forbes Russia reported Monday, citing an unnamed source in his Renova investment group.
Swiss media reported last week that the country’s banks had frozen $2 billion of Vekselberg’s Swiss franc-denominated public and private accounts.
For eight months in 2017, Michael Cohen allegedly received $500,000 from Columbus Nova LLC, a company run by Vekselberg's cousin that, until recently, identified itself as "the U.S. investment vehicle for Renova Group, a multi-national company controlled by Mr. Vekselberg."
Swiss Banks Freeze $1Bln of Russian Oligarch’s Accounts Over U.S. Sanctions Fears (The Moscow Times)