Cash dollars and euros are entering Russia despite sanctions, Reuters writes. According to the agency, more than $2 billion in American and European currency bills entered the country from March 2022 to December 2023. Journalists made this conclusion based on customs data they received from an unnamed «commercial supplier.» The agency was unable to obtain more recent statistics. Washington and Brussels have banned the supply of their currencies to Russia in 2022. In December, the US government toughened its rhetoric against companies and individuals who help Moscow circumvent sanctions.
However, until now, no truly effective measures have been taken to limit the supply of cash currency to Russia, says financial market expert Alexey Bushuev: «These types of materials are usually made to legalize data obtained operationally. It was no secret to anyone who has any dealings with this business that banknotes were imported from Turkey and other countries. Moreover, earlier the emphasis was on used banknotes, which were often imported through states neighboring the Russian Federation that were not under sanctions. Naturally, they asked for something for this, but alternative suppliers appeared who agreed to do it better and on more interesting terms. And the most curious thing is that, according to rumors, even new banknotes began to appear. The law of capitalism: as soon as a price for a service appears, everyone immediately wants to earn this money. Take it in one place, put it in another — this is cash, it does not say who owns it, and so on.
If things get really bad, they will transport you in diplomatic mail on business jets, we have already been through that.»
Reuters noted that a significant portion of the cash was imported into Russia from the UAE and Turkey, while the source of more than half of the total amount was not indicated in customs records. The agency's sources emphasized that many Russians still want to have foreign currency in cash for trips abroad and for savings. Although, against the backdrop of an extremely high key rate, ruble savings have become more preferable, which is evident in the Central Bank's statistics, noted Tinkoff Investments Chief Economist Sofia Donetsk: «For more than six months, there has been a trend toward a decrease in demand for cash currency, no matter what the media writes.
With the advent of the era of very high rates, we have seen an unusually stable decline in the portion of financial assets that the population holds in cash.
The trend of high rates has interrupted this desire, and we are seeing a massive influx of funds from cash mainly into term ruble deposits. Accordingly, if information reaches us somewhere that a new foreign currency is arriving, then it is probably used by businesses, given the complication in settlements. But in general, they are also using cash less and less.»
Reuters named the little-known company Aero-Trade as the largest declarant of foreign currency in Russia. Over almost two years, it has declared about $1.5 billion in banknotes. The company's owner told the agency that he doubts the authenticity of the customs records and declined to comment further.
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