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(Bloomberg) — Swiss authorities raided the local office of metals trader Open Mineral AG last Thursday as part of an investigation into potential sanctions breaches relating to its trading in Russian gold, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs searched the firm’s offices with local police in the canton of Zug last week, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing an ongoing investigation.
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SECO, as the agency is known, confirmed in an emailed statement that it had searched a property as part of an administrative criminal proceeding centered on two individuals, without identifying the parties or property involved. The investigation relates to potential violations of Swiss sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agency said.
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An administrative criminal proceeding is one typically used for violations of tax or customs laws, but forgoes a full indictment and trial as it’s handled by Swiss administrative authorities rather than the court system.
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“Authorities attended our premises last week, related to an inquiry into trades in 2022,” a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed statement. “Our business operations are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”
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Open Mineral is a metals trading and technology company founded in 2017 by a group of former Glencore executives, and backed by Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. The company bought tens of millions of dollars of Russian gold in 2022 through its Abu Dhabi-based subsidiary, Bloomberg News has previously reported.
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Switzerland, along with the US, UK, EU, Canada and Japan, banned the purchase of gold from Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the company told the Financial Times that its trading in Russian gold was legal because it was carried out by a UAE-based entity.
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The company is cooperating with the authorities, and business is ongoing as usual, the spokesperson said on Tuesday.
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—With assistance from Hugo Miller and Jan-Henrik Förster.
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