Switzerland is now the world’s top destination for Russians transferring large amounts of money abroad, according to swissinfo.ch – the International Service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.
According to the report, wealthy, upper middle class Russians are so worried about the structural imbalances in the Russian economy and the political situation that they are seeking reliable and efficient banking systems abroad.
As a result, countries outside the Commonwealth of Independent States now receive up to three quarters of all money transfers from Russia, and Switzerland has overtaken Uzbekistan as the main destination for private money transfers, reports swissinfo.ch.
The latest data published by Russia’s central bank show Russian citizens transferred some $6.8bn to Switzerland in the first three quarters of 2014. This is twice as much as in the same period in 2013. Large sums were transferred for the payment of loans, goods and services, including education, healthcare and tourism.
In comparison, $4.7bn was sent to Uzbekistan last year, down from $5bn in 2013.
“People were obviously panicking. This was a completely understandable reaction by the upper middle class to the sanctions and the weakening of the rouble,” Fedor Bizikov, senior portfolio manager at the Russian company GHP Group, was quoted as saying.
Valentin Zhurba, portfolio manager at the company General Invest, was also quoted as saying that Russians who transferred money to Switzerland more than one year ago have enjoyed windfall profits, given the 80% increase in the value of the franc against the rouble.