Switzerland's largest bank announces cleansing of its clientele from Russians under sanctions

The Swiss bank UBS, which is the largest bank in the country by assets and one of the top 50 banks in the world, has launched massive checks of clients of Russian origin.

Source. This was reported by Russian media with reference to a letter sent by UBS to its clients.

The bank asks Russian account holders for documents confirming their status in Switzerland.

The bank warns that it "reserves the right to block banking relations from May 6." By this time, clients must provide copies of their passports or Swiss residence permits.

According to UBS's letter, the bank intends to cleanse its client base of Russians under sanctions. The check is being conducted "in connection with the measures taken by the Federal Council of the country in relation to Russia," the document says.

Background. As reported, on Monday, UBS, which manages $3 trillion in client assets, announced the purchase of its competitor, the Swiss bank Credit Suisse.

According to The Moscow Times, Credit Suisse became famous as a "favorite" bank of Russian oligarchs and held more than $30 billion in assets of wealthy Russians before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The bank collapsed amid the US banking crisis and a record outflow of client money – more than $100 billion in January alone.

As we wrote, the Swiss authorities announced plans to allocate $280 billion to rescue the national banking system, an amount equal to a third of the country's GDP, which shocked many Swiss politicians.