Russian agents seized millions of dollars worth of Audemars Piguet watches in Moscow in an apparent retaliation for Swiss sanctions banning luxury goods exports, Bloomberg reported, citing Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
The watches, which can cost more than £700,000 apiece, were seized from the firm’s local premises by agents from Russia’s FSB security service on Tuesday, the newspaper said. It cited independent sources and a confidential Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs memo written for members of parliament that apparently gave details of the raid.
Switzerland abandoned its traditional neutral stance and followed other western governments in imposing sanctions banning the export of luxury goods to Russia earlier this month in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Swiss member of parliament Roger Köppel first revealed the information on a YouTube video. » | Staff and agencies | Sunday, March 27, 2022
