Cryptocurrency exchanges in the United Arab Emirates are flooded with demands for billions of dollars worth of digital currency liquidations as Russians seek safe havens for their assets, company executives and financial sources told Reuters.
According to the report, some exchange clients use cryptocurrencies to invest in real estate in the Emirates, while others want to convert their digital money into “hard” currency and channel it elsewhere, according to the same sources.
Swiss stockbrokers are seeking to liquidate billions of dollars in bitcoin for their customers, who fear Switzerland will freeze their assets, an official said, adding that none of the claims were for less than $ 2 billion.
“We’ve had about five or six requests in the last two weeks. None of that has been done yet, we’ve never had that much interest,” he said, adding that his company usually receives a request for a big deal once a month.
“We have a guy – I do not know who he is, but he came through a stockbroker – and he says, ‘We want to sell 125,000 bitcoin.’ And I say, ‘What? That’s $ 6 billion, guys. ‘ “And they tell me, ‘yes, we will send them to a company in Australia,'” he said.
The Swiss financial market watchdog declined to comment on the volume of cryptocurrency transactions.
The Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said in an e-mail that cryptocurrencies were subject to the same sanctions and measures imposed by Switzerland on “normal” Russian assets and liabilities. Its cryptocurrencies must also be seized in Switzerland.
Dubai has long been a magnet for tycoons, and the UAE’s refusal to take a stand between the West and Moscow is seen as a signal by the Russians that their money is safe there.
Exit from sanctions?
“We see a lot of Russians and Belarusians coming to Dubai and bringing whatever they can, even cryptocurrencies,” a real estate agent, whose company has partnered with a cryptocurrency service to help people buy real estate, told Reuters.
An economic source in the Emirates confirmed that the Russians are buying real estate in Dubai, using their digital currencies.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have announced that they are blocking the accounts of Russians who have been sanctioned by the West due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Major exchanges, such as Coinbase and Binance, are taking steps to ensure that cryptocurrencies will not be used as a means of circumventing sanctions and are working with law enforcement authorities.
Three Western diplomats have said they are increasingly concerned about the number of Russians seeking refuge in the UAE in recent weeks for their property, including real estate, and are wary that some may act on behalf of those subject to sanctions.
Two of the diplomats said they were skeptical that the UAE would not be a safe haven for Russian assets, citing the country’s neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Dubai government press office and the UAE central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Capital
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