Russia supported the West: the country's authorities also want to block the outflow of capital abroad

As reported exactly a month ago with reference to the data of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation "Novye Izvestia", only in 2022 the deposits of Russians abroad have tripled. If as of January 1, 2022, the deposits of Russians in non-resident banks amounted to 2.27 trillion rubles, then by January 1, 2023, the amount increased to 6.63 trillion rubles, or up to 94.3 billion dollars. Accordingly, since the beginning of the SVO, Russian citizens have replenished foreign deposits by more than 4 trillion rubles (or $ 63 billion). And this is despite tough Western sanctions that have significantly limited the possibilities for withdrawing money from Russia to developed countries. Now, it seems, it has been decided to put an end to this freedom. And this time not from the West, but from exactly the opposite - from Russia.  

The popular analytical channel "Nezygar", citing its sources, reported that the financial authorities of the country are ready to begin a large-scale verification of the operation of money transfer systems in the very near future. First of all, this means that there may be new restrictions on the transfer of funds abroad.

The fugitives will be returned by persuasion and affection

Channel analysts believe that in the current geopolitical and economic situation, the authorities are interested in solving a number of tasks: including continuing to block the outflow of capital abroad, and also trying to implement the trend for the return of relocants to their native harbor.

The latter task is already being partially solved, and, as follows from the latest signals of the political establishment, the state has decided to use "soft power" first of all. At the highest level, it was articulated that the notorious "witch hunt" would not happen, that those who left after the start of a special military operation, as well as after the announcement of partial mobilization in September last year, could safely return home. The return of relocants is also facilitated by Western sanctions, due to which money transfers abroad are becoming increasingly problematic.

According to the channel's sources, the financial authorities of the country also intend to work in this direction: they are interested in minimizing the outflow of funds outside the state. Paradoxically, experts say, but in this sense, the interests of Russia and the West have converged.

The amount of money transferred abroad will be severely limited

The revision of the most popular systems, including the domestic "Golden Crown", which is perhaps the most popular among Russian relocators, does not pursue radical goals, insiders say.

However, after detailed checks, it is possible to correct the operation of the systems, first of all, in particular, the appearance of new transaction limits.

Financial market participants believe that limiting transfers, setting new transaction parameters can be an effective measure. The corresponding correction can occur primarily in two directions, experts predict.

"Firstly, hypothetically, the monthly amounts of transfers to other countries can be significantly limited to the clients of the systems, and secondly, the lower limit of transfers in foreign currency can be raised, for example, the size of a one-time transaction should be at least 10 thousand dollars or euros. A similar scheme in the implementation of SWIFT transfers is already used by some financial organizations operating in the Russian market."

Sources indicate that such measures, if finally adopted, will hit not so much the relocators who continue to receive Russian salaries, but those who want to legally and safely withdraw funds abroad, for example, for the purpose of investments for further naturalization in Western countries, or for the purchase of foreign real estate.

"It is obvious that the trend will be realized, since quite visible movements in this direction have already been noted", - experts conclude.