Dubai Becomes New Switzerland for Traders of Russian Commodities

Russian firms departing Geneva for the UAE’s business capital as sanctions force a strategy rethink

Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
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Traders of Russian commodities are rushing to set up businesses in Dubai as Switzerland makes it increasingly challenging for them to deal with Moscow.

Switzerland has for decades been home to middlemen helping to match Russian producers with buyers all over the world. Now, a ratcheting up of sanctions is prompting a migration to the emirate in the Persian Gulf.