Russian government signs decree banning foreign currency exports

the government of Russia announced this Tuesday (1st) the publication of a decree that prohibits the exit of foreign currency in the country, in the midst of a series of sanctions imposed by Western countries that restricted Russian access to their international reserves.

The measure comes into force on Wednesday (2) and is valid for amounts above US$ 10 thousand (equivalent to about R$ 51.6 thousand, at the current price), and includes only financial resources, that is, does not prevent the export of products that have a value higher than that established by the decree.

According to the director of CNN Brasil BusinessFernando Nakagawa, the decree is a government response to a series of economic measures announced by the West, such as the impossibility of moving Russian companies and individuals from the country deletion in Swifta global payments system, and the freezing of the country’s international reserves.

“Since then, the government has announced measures to try to react to this lack of capital and prevent the departure, flight of capital from Russian territory. Yesterday, the government started to force exporters to sell 80% of the resources in foreign currencies”, says Nakagawa.

He assesses the new decree as “tough”, and should hit Russian companies in particular. “For a company, moving just US$ 10,000 doesn’t mean anything, it’s very little. Depending on the details, it would make it impossible for subsidiaries of multinationals to send profits or payment of royalties to their headquarters in another country”.

The announcement also comes amid the second day of the ruble’s devaluation against other currencies, in particular the dollar. The US currency appreciated 20% on Monday (28), and is already up more than 10%, with 112 rubles worth US$ 1. The country’s stock exchange did not open for the second day in a row.