Russia proposes to pay foreign companies that leave Russia not in currency but in frozen assets

The Russian Central Bank will consider the idea of paying foreign companies that leave Russia with special bonds instead of currency, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said.

Source. This was reported by The Moscow Times.

The initiative was put forward by the Liberal Democratic Party deputy Vladimir Koshelev. According to him, foreign companies should issue Central Bank bonds instead of foreign currency, which will be tied to Russia's foreign exchange reserves frozen in the West. This will help stabilize the ruble, the deputy emphasized.

"This idea needs to be further developed, but in principle, such an initiative can be considered as one of the measures to protect Russian assets frozen abroad," Nabiullina said.

However, she immediately noted that the Central Bank would not like to disclose information about Russian reserves, and in case of a bond issue, it will have to be done.

"But as an alternative to type C accounts, we can consider it," the Central Bank head said.

Earlier, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov estimated Russia's reserves frozen by the West at $300 billion.

On April 18, Nabiullina said that the restrictions on the withdrawal of funds from Russia by non-residents from "unfriendly" countries is "a measure in response" to the seizure of assets, which "forms a negotiating position on this issue."

Background. As reported, Russia will allow the creation of "nesting doll" companies to circumvent sanctions.