Gazprom to stockpile Bitcoin - Its Swiss banking branch goes into cryptology

The "Gazprombank" platform has just obtained the green light from Switzerland to offer its various services related to cryptos. In particular, it will be possible to buy, sell or trade bitcoins via this company on Swiss territory.

A new player comes into play

Gazprombank is the Swiss subsidiary of one of Russia's leading banks. This private bank has been offering its services since 1990 to both private and corporate clients. It operates mainly in Europe, through Russia, Belarus and now Switzerland.

Last Thursday, the FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) issued an accreditation to validate Gazprombank. With this authorisation, the bank will start to offer a service for the "custody" of cryptomoney, as well as an exchange service for buying and selling cryptomoney, in exchange for fiat currencies. These services will also be available only to a limited number of customers, selected after a "rigorous evaluation process". The firm plans to gradually expand its offer to include other cryptoskills and advantageous financial products in the future.

A false good idea?

If today Gazprombank is viewed favourably by FINMA, this has not always been the case. Between 2006 and 2016, the bank was accused of violating several compliance standards. The investigations against the bank showed that "Gazprombank Switzerland had seriously violated the due diligence obligations under the Money Laundering Act", FINMA stated at the time.

Since the 2000s, Russian banks have evolved in terms of compliance, governance and financial solvency (Basel II). The current dynamic is in favour of private banking and cryptomoney, which offer competitive interest rates. Management banks have in fact emerged in Moscow, and these are now trying to conquer a share of the management of fortunes abroad.

This strategy may nevertheless seem risky when one knows the liabilities of Russian banks in Europe and Switzerland. On 28 February, three executives of the National Bank Trust (of Russian origin) were indicted for massive fraud in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. They are accused of having siphoned off 68 million dollars via a sophisticated scheme later called a "laundering machine".

After various sandals, Gazprombank is in the process of establishing itself in Switzerland, as well as in Europe, in the long term. For the time being, the proposed offer is under the control of the regulatory authorities. Indeed, only a limited number of customers will be able to benefit from these new services.