Russian intelligence agents seized multimillion-dollar luxury watches from Audemars Piguet last week.Leon Neal/Getty Images
According to NZZ am Sonntag, Russia seized millions of dollars worth of Audemars Piguet watches in Moscow last week.
The move appeared to be in retaliation against Switzerland’s sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Switzerland left its historically neutral status to sanction Russia over the Ukraine war.
Russian intelligence agents seized multimillion-dollar luxury watches from a Swiss watchmaker in apparent retaliation against Switzerland’s Ukraine war sanctions, Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported on Sunday.
According to the newspaper, the watches were confiscated from a local subsidiary of Audemars Piguet in Moscow earlier this month. Audemars Piguet is a nearly 150-year-old family-owned watchmaker. The brand’s luxury watches typically cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Russian authorities cited customs offenses for the seizure of the watches, but the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a confidential memo it was most likely “an arbitrary repressive measure in response to sanctions,” according to the NZZ on Sunday.
On February 28th, Switzerland left its historically neutral status to sanction Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The restrictions include a ban on the export of luxury goods to Russia.
Russia was the 17th largest market for Swiss watch exports in 2021, with goods valued at 260.1 million francs ($278.6 million), according to the Swiss Watch Industry Association.
Audemars Piguet and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to insider requests for comment sent outside of regular business hours. A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry told Bloomberg that the country’s embassy in Moscow is “currently engaged in very intensive exchanges” with Swiss companies in Russia.
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