Russian money is flowing into Monaco, fuelling a boom in the local private banking market not seen since petro-dollars from the Middle East ...

Russian money is flowing into Monaco, fuelling a boom in the local private banking market not seen since petro-dollars from the Middle East flowed into the local banking sector during the 1970s. Russian multi-millionaires are increasingly depositing large sums of money in Monaco as they use the principality and the Cote d’Azur as a playground for the millions, if not billions. They also view Monte Carlo as a safe haven and away from the eyes of the Russian state. Compagnie Monégasque de Banque, one of the major local private banks, which is owned by the Italian investment bank Mediobanca, has recently launched a Russian edition of its website due to the increasing number of Russians opening accounts at the bank. Billionaire Russian businessman Roman Abramovich is a regular visitor to Monaco and often has at least one of his three super yachts moored in the principality’s marina. And Mr Abramovich's compatriot and fellow business tycoon, Aleksei Fedorychev, recently tried to buy Monaco soccer club – only to be blocked by Prince Albert of Monaco, who said the club must not be in the hands of a foreigner. The Russian love affair with Monte Carlo goes back to the 19th century when it was a favourite haunt of the country’s aristocracy. The London-based newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported in 1870. “A few Russians — the most reckless gamblers in the world — constitute the elite of Monaco society.” Gambling is still a major draw for Russians in Monaco, and the principality’s four major casinos derive a substantial amount of their revenue from high-rolling Russians. The private banking scene in Monaco is dominated by the three major French banks, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole, although UBS and Credit Suisse have sizeable businesses in the principality. Most of the major names in Swiss and international private banking have some presence in Monte Carlo. Interest in the local banking sector was recently enlivened with the acquisition of Banque du Gothard, the Monaco subsidiary of Banca del Gottardo, by Banque Jacob Safra, the private bank set up in 2000 by Joseph Safra and his son Jacob. The move was viewed by many as a poignant return to Monaco for the Safra family, whose name was closely associated with the principality through Edmond Safra, the Syrian-born financier who died there in 1999 after his nurse started a fire in his apartment. Joseph Safra is his younger brother.