Swiss press: Russians seized millions of euros in Audemars Piguet watches as a result of Berne sanctions

FSB (Federal Security Service) agents raided the Swiss brand’s headquarters in Moscow, russia’s capital, and seized dozens of Audemars Piguet luxury watches, worth “millions of euros,” wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) publication, picked up by The Guardian.

The NZZ insists the reaction comes after Switzerland abandoned its traditional position of neutrality and followed other Western governments in imposing sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Among other things, Switzerland stopped the export of luxury goods to Russia earlier this month and froze the funds of Russian oligarchs on the EU sanctions list, blocking assets worth 5.6 billion euros.

The luxury watches, worth more than 800,000 euros apiece, were seized following a raid on March 22, NZZ notes.

Russian authorities have motivated the seizure of watches under the pretext of customs crimes, but the Swiss believe the action was “most likely an arbitrary repressive measure in response to sanctions.” The prechesion came five days after the government in Bern tightened sanctions on Moscow.

Officials at Audemars Piguet, a manufacturer of luxury watches founded in 1875, did not comment, but the famous horology had previously announced that it would stop exports to Russia and close stores in that country.

List of the 450 companies that stopped reduced their business with Russia

According to Ukraineska Pravda, since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, more than 450 companies have announced changes to their businesses in Russia.

Based on their statements and actions, experts from the Yale University Institute of Higher Management, USA, divided the companies into five categories. The list, originally published on February 28, is updated daily and can be found on the som.yale.edu website.

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