Russia | Billions worth of western banknotes have reached Russia – the location is a mystery

About 2.3 billion US dollars, or about 2.1 billion euros worth of dollar and euro banknotes have ended up in Russia after the United States and the EU banned the export of banknotes to the country in March 2022.

The news agency reports about it Reuters.

According to customs statistics seen by Reuters, the cash has ended up in Russia from, for example, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, which have not imposed trade restrictions on Russia. The country of origin was not marked for most of the cash.

The Chinese yuan has overtaken the dollar as Russia’s most traded foreign currency. Many Russians still want other foreign currencies for trips abroad, shopping abroad and saving.

“For individual people, the dollar is still a reliable currency,” the Russian investment director of the credit company Astra Asset Management Dmitri Polevoi told Reuters.

Customs statistics according to the report, the largest single entity that imported foreign currencies was Aero-Trade, which offers duty-free shopping services at airports and on airplanes. The company would issue about $1.5 billion worth of notes from February 2022 through the end of 2023.

In the majority of cases, Aero-Trade was only responsible for customs clearance, and Reuters was unable to find out where the money came from and where it ended up.

Owner of Aero-trade Artyom Martynjuk told Reuters that he doubted the authenticity of the customs statistics and denied that the company was involved in the delivery of foreign cash to Russia.

More than a quarter of the imported banknotes were payments received by Russian banks for precious metals.

The Russian defense equipment group Rosteh, which has been subject to US sanctions since 2014, was also among the significant parties that brought in cash.