Other destinations have taken over Russia’s bullion trade after the G7 and EU banned imports from the sanctioned country
West losing Russian gold – Bloomberg
© Sputnik / Ilya Naymushin
A number of countries are snapping up Russian gold bullion after Western governments closed their markets as part of Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The G7, EU and Switzerland, a major gold hub with a traditionally neutral stance, banned Russian gold imports last summer in an effort to damage the country's $20 billion gold industry.
Prior to the sanctions, London was the top destination for Russian gold. Now, since major gold-buying banks such as JPMorgan Chase and HSBC Holdings stopped trading Russian precious metals, numerous small players from logistics companies to dealers have stepped in, Bloomberg wrote.
Exports from the sanctioned country have been rerouted to the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Türkiye, which have not joined Western restrictions, the outlet said, citing data from trade-tracking firm ImportGenius, based on Russian customs figures for the six months through August.
Western sanctions have blocked Russian gold from their own markets and banned merchants from dealing with it. But companies in other countries are not prohibited from trading the precious metal as there are no secondary sanctions.
Russian gold production soarsREAD MORE: Russian gold production soars
The UAE, which has become a hub for the precious metals trade between the East and West, has replaced the UK as the new top destination for Russian gold, with more than $500 million worth of bullion being exported there in the six months through August.
Russian gold worth about $305 million was tracked as passing through Istanbul airport between March and August last year, making Türkiye the second key endpoint of the precious metal.
Hong Kong-based financial company VPower Finance Security, which provides cash and gold for Chinese banks, handled more than $300 million of Russian gold shipments between March and August last year, according to ImportGenius tracking data.
Meanwhile, Russian gold miners boosted output by 26.5% year-on-year in March, according to the latest data from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). Gold production jumped by more than 30% compared to February. The first quarter figure was 9.1% higher than in the same period last year.....More Below
https://www.rt.com/business/575729-russian-gold-export-western-sanctions/
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
