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Russians Are Selling Billions of Dollars in Bitcoin in the UAE, According to a Report

With the G7 nations tightening the noose around Russia and its western-based Oligarchs, the latter have been increasingly looking for ways to empty their stash in Dubai in order to avoid attracting the attention of hawk-eyed financial agencies.

According to Reuters, sources familiar with the matter have revealed a surge in requests from Russians to liquidate their Bitcoins and invest the proceeds in Dubai real estate or simply convert them to cash.


Individuals regard the Gulf countries as a perfect haven for their fortunes due to their neutrality during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis and their open-ended approach to foreign investments. Dubai, by far the largest and most welcoming city in the region, has been a target for wealthy Russians because they can easily exchange their crypto for other assets such as real estate and movable assets.

According to one crypto firm, they have been inundated with requests from Swiss brokers to liquidate billions of dollars in Bitcoin owned by their clients who are concerned that Switzerland will freeze their assets.

 We’ve had like five or six in the past two weeks.
None of them has come off yet – they’ve sort of fallen over at the last minute, which is not rare – but we’ve never had this much interest.


The firm's executive, who did not want to be identified, stated.

According to him, the firm typically receives one large transaction per month.


"We have one guy – I'm not sure who he is, but he came through a broker – and they say, 'We want to sell 125,000 bitcoin.'" And I'm like, 'Wait, what?' Guys, that's $6 billion. 

"And they're like, 'yeah, we're going to send it to an Australian company,'" he continued.

A representative from Switzerland's financial watchdog, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, reiterated in an email that sanctions imposed on Russians in the country extended to their crypto assets.


A similar scenario was reported by another real estate brokerage firm that uses the services of a crypto firm to conduct business with crypto-paying clients. "We've seen a lot of Russians and even Belarusians coming to Dubai and bringing whatever they can bring, even in crypto," a source said.

Financial sources in the UAE have since confirmed that Russians are increasingly using cryptocurrency to purchase property in the gulf state, even as crypto exchanges, albeit reluctantly, ramp up efforts to block sanctioned entities.


DISCLAIMER

The author's or anyone else's views or opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading in crypto assets carries a financial risk.

IMAGE CREDIT
Featured image via Unsplash


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