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Various governments have imposed sanctions, which included crypto assets, on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The move panicked Russian investors who are now reportedly seeking to liquidate their digital currency holdings and are investing the proceeds in other asset classes as a means of evading the restrictions.
The United Arab Emirates appears to be the destination of choice for Russian crypto investors who want to get rid of their assets fast. According to a report by Reuters, UAE crypto firms are being deluged with requests from Russian investors who want to liquidate billions of dollars in digital currency.
The report added that some Russian investors are using crypto to invest in UAE real estate. Others opted to use local firms to convert their crypto assets into fiat and invest it elsewhere.
An unnamed crypto executive claimed that his firm has received a number of queries from Swiss brokers to liquidated billions in Bitcoin (BTC) adding that none of the requests is less than $2 billion. Russian investors are reportedly afraid that Swiss authorities will freeze their assets as the EU has recently confirmed that crypto is included in the sanctions.
“We've had like five or six in the past two weeks,” the executive said, adding that his firm normally receives inquiries for such large amounts only once a month. “We have one guy – I don't know who he is, but he came through a broker – and they're like, ‘We want to sell 125,000 bitcoin.’ And I'm like, 'What? That's $6 billion guys'. And they're like, 'Yeah, we're going to send it to a company in Australia'.”
A local real estate broker also revealed a recent surge in Russian clients. “We've been seeing a lot of Russians and even Belarusians coming to Dubai and bringing whatever they can bring, even in crypto,” the broker, whose company has entered into a partnership with a cryptocurrency service to assist people buy a property in UAE, said.
The UAE has not sided with either Moscow or Western allies with the UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash stating last month that the country “believes that taking sides would only lead to more violence” and encouraged parties to resort to diplomatic action, according to Coindesk.
Two sources also said that UAE’s abstention on the U.N. Security Council, when Russia vetoed a resolution that condemned its invasion of Ukraine, could indicate that the country won’t likely impose restrictions on Russians.
