Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has submitted to the government his plan of denouncing the US currency. Its major point is abandoning the requirement of export revenues repatriation when settlements are made in Russian rubles, Kommersant daily reports.
At the moment, Russian companies are obliged to transfer their entire revenues – whether in national or foreign currency – derived abroad, to the accounts they hold in Russian banks. The requirement will no longer apply to ruble-denominated revenues. Still, according to the Finance Ministry, the provision will only be effective since 2024.
“We will establish a regime of preferences to stimulate our foreign trade participants to use our national currency”, Siluanov noted.
Earlier, he reiterated that Russian authorities have no intention to ban US dollars’ circulation in Russia. He also assured that bank deposits in US dollars will not be converted into rubles. Experts were worried about a possibility of such a development after respective statements were made by VTB President and Chairman Andrey Kostin.
“I am sure that all clients of all banks should get their money back, that’s the basic principle. It’s a different matter, how the money is paid and what is the currency”, Kostin, heading the second largest bank in Russia, said.