Traders and bankers on alert following Russia sanctions

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Traders and bankers in Geneva will have to be on alert as the international sanctions against Russia are bound to hurt.

The city is at the centre of Russian trade in raw materials and manages billions of dollars of Russian money. The vast majority of trades are from Geneva, with Zug and Lugano other centres in the country. 

According to the Bank of International Settlements, a third of the money held by Russian companies and individuals is in Switzerland. 

Also under the spotlight is the company which runs the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, which is based in Zug. 

Its director, Mattias Warnig, has been sanctioned by the United States. He’s a former East German Stasi agent and is a personal friend of Vladimir Putin. He also runs a subsidiary of the state backed energy company Gazprom.

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