Russia was able to keep $80 billion abroad due to the West's delay in sanctions - Bloomberg
However, Western countries may try to seize them to pay compensation to Ukraine
Russia has been able to keep about a third of the $227 billion in revenues it earned last year from exporting its energy (oil and gas) abroad, creating a potential new problem as the United States and its allies seek to tighten their sanctions against Russia, which unleashed the war in Ukraine.
Source. Bloomberg Economics
According to the publication, about $80 billion is placed in the form of cash, real estate and investments in branches abroad. This "stash" is a shadow reserve, a byproduct of the record current account surplus (roughly the difference between exports and imports) that helped support the Kremlin's finances after the attack on Ukraine.
"Because Europe has dragged its feet on sanctions against Russia's energy sector, the Kremlin has enjoyed one of the largest current account surpluses in its history," economists explain in a commentary to Bloomberg.
This "de facto nullified efforts to freeze the Russian central bank's assets in March 2022."
In total, Russia managed to accumulate the equivalent of about 5% of GDP in international assets in 2022, which is close to the average for the period of high oil prices in 2009-2013, Bloomberg calculated.
These accumulations abroad could become a target for Russia's adversaries, and Western countries may try to seize them to pay compensation to Ukraine, the agency notes.
Background. As a reminder, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell recently said that there is no room to tighten sanctions against Russia.
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