The latest data from the Swiss Federal Council has shown that Switzerland imported over 14 tons of banned Russian gold for processing last month. The nation utilized a loophole by importing it through third countries, and thereby avoiding Western sanctions designed to limit the purchase of Russian gold, due to the war in Ukraine.

Data showed that in October, Switzerland imported CHF776 million ($879 million) worth of gold, of which $875.7 million worth of the precious metal originated in Russia, but was shipped through the UK and Moldova, thereby bypassing Western sanctions placed on Moscow.

Switzerland had joined in the EU’s seventh package of sanctions over the war in Ukraine in August of 2022. The sanctions package included a ban on the “direct or indirect purchase, import or transfer of gold and gold jewelry” which originated in Russia. It also prohibited exports from Russia to the bloc. The sanctions also targeted products in which the gold had been processed in a third country.

However according to Swiss regulations, any Russian gold which was produced in the country prior to the embargo will not be subject to the sanctions. As a result, such gold is allowed to be imported from third countries, regardless of its origin.

How Switzerland, which is a major hub globally for the processing of the precious metal, has been sourcing its gold since the sanctions went into effect has been a major question for both the media and the public.

Media outlets have noted that the import ban has had little apparent effect on the Swiss imports of gold from Russia, given the rates at which Swiss refineries continue  to purchase and re-melt the metal, which makes it essentially impossible to trace the origins of the gold.