The founder of the Renova group, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, won a case against the Swiss bank PostFinance in the case of closing his accounts against the backdrop of sanctions from the United States. This is stated in the decision of the Federal Court of Switzerland.

Vekselberg has been under US sanctions since April 2018. In the fall of the same year, the businessman decided to open accounts at PostFinance Bank. However, already in December, the bank notified Vekselberg that his accounts were closed and terminated business relations with him. The bank explained its decision by “inconsistency between the bank’s strategy and the client’s profile.”

Disagreeing with this decision, the businessman appealed to the court of the canton of Bern, demanding that the accounts be restored. However, then the court refused to satisfy the claim, after which Vekselberg filed an appeal.

As a result, the Federal Court of Switzerland decided to cancel the decision of the court of the canton of Bern, and also decided to satisfy Vekselberg's claim. Also, the PostFinance bank was obliged to maintain business relations with the businessman and restore accounts. In addition, the Swiss bank must pay legal costs and compensation to Vekselberg for a total of $18.3 thousand.

The Swiss Federal Court upheld the claim in view of the fact that the PostFinance bank at the time of closing the accounts was not legally entitled to do so. This practice has been legally enshrined since 2021, and until then, not a single bank had such a right.

In mid-December, Vekselberg transferred control of the Airports of Regions management company to former Renova top manager Vladimir Rezer. At the same time, the airports themselves remain owned by the Vekselberg group. there are no plans to sell them further.

bbabo.Net