Billions despite sanctions: where do the Russians come from dollars and euros

About it writes Reuters with reference to customs data provided by a commercial supplier who registered and gathered information. It is established that cash was brought to Russia from countries such as the UAE and Turkey, which do not support sanctions against Russia. However, the country of origin of more than half of the imported funds was not indicated.

According to the publication, these previously not published data show that Russia has been able to bypass sanctions aimed at blocking cash imports. This confirms that dollars and euros continue to play an important role in trade and travel abroad, despite Moscow's efforts to reduce dependence on these currencies.

In December 2023, the US government threatened fines on financial institutions that help Russia to circumvent sanctions and imposed sanctions against companies from third countries for 2023 and 2024. Although Chinese Yuan has already overtaken the US dollar and has become the most invited foreign currency in Moscow, there are considerable difficulties in making payments.

Dmitry Polevyi, Head of the Astra Asset Management Investment Department in Russia, noted that many Russians still prefer to have foreign currency cash for travel abroad, small imports and savings. According to him, for individuals, the dollar remains a reliable currency. Since 2022, Russia has begun to call the dollar and the euro "toxic", since sanctions have significantly limited the country's access to the world financial system, complicating payments and trade.

About $ 300 billion in the Bank of Russia's foreign exchange reserves has been frozen in Europe. Customs data covers the period from March 2022 to December 2023, and Reuters failed to obtain more recent information. Documents showed a significant increase in cash import immediately before the invasion. From November 2021 to February 2022, $ 18. 9 billion and euros were received in Russia.

Daniel Picard, the head of the International Trade and National Security Group at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, noted that the sharp increase in supply before invasion indicates the attempts of some Russians to protect themselves from possible sanctions. After the invasion of Ukraine, the Central Bank of Russia promptly introduced restrictions on the issuance of cash foreign currency to individuals to support the ruble.

From February 2022 to the end of 2023, only $ 98 million was exported from Russia in the form of dollar and euro banknotes. At the same time, the inflow of foreign currency was much higher. The largest cash declarant was Aero-Trade, which deals with duty-free trading at airports and on board aircraft. During this period, she declared about $ 1. 5 billion in notes. Aero-Trade registered 73 supplies of $ 20 million or euros each, all of which were issued at the Domodedovo Moscow Airport.

Customs declarations of supply have been described as an exchange or revenue from sales on board aircraft. Most often, Aero-Trade appeared only as a declarant, an organization responsible for customs clearance. According to data, one of the parties for 20 million euros, declared Aero-Trade in February last year, was imported by Yves Rocher Vostok, a subsidiary of the French cosmetic group Yves Rocher, which still manages dozens of stores in Russia.

The data does not specify the country of origin or supplier. According to customs records and sources familiar with transactions, more than a quarter of $ 2. 27 billion in banknotes was imported by banks, with most of the funds used to pay precious metals. Some Russian banks received cash worth $ 580 million from abroad from March 2022 to December 2023, exporting approximately equivalent volumes of precious metals.

In some cases, the supply of gold or silver was directed to the companies that provided cash. For example, the Russian Bank Vitabank imported cash worth $ 64. 8 million from the Turkish Gold -Term Company Demas Kuyumculuk in 2022 and 2023. During the same period, Vitabank exported gold and silver to Turkey worth $ 59. 5 million.

A source familiar with DEMAS's activities confirmed that the company participated in a number of cash exchange agreements for gold with the participation of Vitabank and two other Russian creditors from March 2022 to September 2023. This source also reported that delivering banknotes from the UAE to Russia was the only possible way to complete long -term contracts concluded with Russian suppliers of gold before the imposition of Western sanctions.

The sanctions actually isolated Russia from the Western financial system, making traditional bank transfers impossible. Documents also show that among the large importers of cash were enterprises related to the State Military-Industrial Conglomer "Rostekh". We will remind, in early August it was reported that citizens of the Russian Federation, despite the sanctions, began again to actively buy real estate abroad.