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/
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
