The restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the withdrawal of capital from abroad have shown their effectiveness in the short term and helped prevent overheating of the foreign exchange market in the short term. This opinion was expressed by Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance of the Russian University of Economics, Master of Laws in an interview with socialbites.ca. GV Plekhanov Mary Valishvili.
“The subsequent liberalization of foreign exchange controls had no significant impact either on the ruble exchange rate or on investors’ capital withdrawal plans. The economist noted that the ruble exchange rate strengthened somewhat after a long meeting of the Financial Market Committee of the State Duma on September 20, where possible restrictions on transfers not only in the “poisonous” currency, but also in rubles abroad were discussed. aforementioned.
According to him, by the end of 2022, citizens have withdrawn $47 billion (out of a total capital outflow of $243 billion); Of this, $33 billion was deposited in foreign banks and $14 billion left the country in the form of cash. The associate professor believes that according to preliminary estimates, a total of up to $ 90 billion of capital can leave Russia in 2023, and no more than 20 percent of this will be realized by individuals.
“It is important to understand the position of the Central Bank of Russia. The mega-regulator considers any administrative restrictions on the movement of capital to be ineffective because both businesses and citizens will be able to find “loopholes” to withdraw their assets. “It is necessary to pay attention to attracting investor funds and creating a favorable climate in Russia,” he said.
According to him, all currency restrictions reflect Western sanctions, and until these sanctions are lifted, it will not be possible to completely remove all protective measures.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has extended restrictions on withdrawing capital abroad for six months: no more than $ 1 million per month can be transferred abroad. Initially, the limit was set at 5 thousand dollars in March 2022, then when the situation stabilized, it was increased.
Previously Russian officials started Discuss the issue of restrictions on withdrawing rubles abroad.