The measures have so far reportedly targeted securities linked with EU clearing house Euroclear
Several leading Israeli banks have begun to segregate accounts belonging to Russian citizens or Russian tax residents, Forbes and RBK reported on Thursday, citing lawyers and financiers.
According to Mark Oigman, founder of international financial company SmartGen, the measures stem from EU sanctions, in particular restrictions introduced against Russians by the Belgian-based depositary Euroclear.
Last year, the clearing house blocked accounts at Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD), through which Russian investors had managed their assets held in foreign jurisdictions. Under guidance from Euroclear, if a Russian resident’s investment portfolio exceeded €100,000 ($108,000), any coupon income, dividends, or proceeds from the sale of assets linked to it were credited to a special segregated account. This deprived Russian clients of the possibility to manage their assets, and gave Euroclear a means to block them in the event of sanctions violations, Vadim Pogosyan, a partner at asset management firm Smartly, told Forbes.
The restrictions initially applied only to EU-based financial institutions which held Euroclear-linked assets, but the clearing house has since instructed its counterparties outside the bloc to comply with the requirements. Segregation measures targeting Russian accounts were previously introduced at the UAE’s NBD Bank and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). According to media sources, an order instructing Israeli financial institutions to segregate accounts belonging to Russians came into force on November 13.
“Israeli banks began verbally warning some of their clients – most likely many – about the risks of blocking last week. Many people last week sold everything they could sell to avoid segregation. According to my estimates, few securities were blocked, since a lot of work was done, and at least private banking clients, wealthy Russians, managed to sell assets subject to segregation,” Oigman told RBK.
According to Aleksey Kovalenko of Israel-based legal firm Kovalenko and Partners, Israeli banks are currently negotiating the details of asset segregations with Euroclear, as many account holders have duel Russian-Israeli citizenship, and permanently live in Israel.
“The Israeli side insists that those who have an Israeli passport are in fact Israelis and should not be subject to the restrictions that should affect Russians, even despite having a second Russian passport,” the lawyer stated.
However, experts have warned that Israeli banks are likely to continue the segregation procedures for the time being in order to comply with Euroclear rules.
According to Forbes sources, the Israel Discount Bank is so far the only bank in the country to have started segregating Russian assets. Other financial organizations are reportedly waiting for the end of negotiations with Euroclear and the finalized step-by-step action plan.
Meanwhile, financial experts have suggested that Russian investors should de-risk their holdings by selling assets linked with Euroclear, and should instead buy Israeli or American securities that are not connected to the depository.
https://www.rt.com/business/587391-israel-banks-segregation-russian-assets/
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, ...
