Great damage was done to Russia when the Central Bank’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were blocked, and the freezing of Russian financial assets by the Netherlands for almost €400 compared to the amount of gold reserves, almost a thousand times more, is a zilch that no one will really notice. This was announced to Izvestia by Nikolai Vavilov, a specialist in the department of strategic research at Total Research, on Tuesday, March 22.
Earlier in the day, Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kag letter to the national parliamentthat Amsterdam has frozen Russian assets worth €392 million. They belong to Russians who are on the sanctions list due to the situation around Ukraine. The minister noted that a total of 188 asset freeze reports had been received from banks, insurance companies, pension funds, fund managers and other financial institutions. She stressed that the amount could increase.
In the Netherlands, financial institutions themselves can freeze assets, which then must report this to their parent organizations – the Financial Markets Authority and the Bank of the Netherlands. Failure to comply with this rule is considered an economic crime in the country.
“Yes, over time, the amount may increase somewhat, and problems for Russian companies registered in the Netherlands, such as Yandex, have already begun. But in fact, this is simply informing the world community that this country has not remained aloof from active restrictions on Russian capital,” Vavilov said.
According to him, reporting on the blocking will be clearer based on the results of the first quarter of this year and further reports from the Dutch Ministry of Finance, but “globally, the amount will still remain such that it will be looked at relatively condescendingly,” because Russia’s main problem is precisely that money. , according to various sources, from $ 340 billion to $ 400 billion, which make up the gold and foreign exchange reserve and which were blocked in other EU countries.
The specialist recommended paying attention to how events will develop specifically with gold and foreign exchange reserves, and if it is possible to achieve the release of funds from the Bank of Russia, then the rest of the money in other countries such as the Netherlands will be released fairly quickly.
According to Central Bank as of February 18, Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves reached $643.2 billion. As of February 1, out of $630.2 billion of foreign exchange reserves, $132.3 billion had to for gold, which is stored on the territory of the Russian Federation. Another $29.3 billion is accounts in special drawing rights – the reserve means of payment of the International Monetary Fund – and in the reserves of the IMF. The bulk of the reserves accounted for foreign currency and securities.
Western countries began to impose sanctions in response to Moscow’s special operation in the Donbass. On February 28, the European Union approved the decision to freeze the assets of the Bank of Russia. The head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, assured that the Russian financial infrastructure would work smoothly.
Earlier in the day, the US Treasury banned transactions with the Central Bank, the Treasury and the National Welfare Fund. Before that, Washington imposed sanctions on a number of Russian companies with state participation or organizations important for the economy, and on “two more companies with a predominance of private capital.”
Russia launched the operation before defending Donbass on February 24 amid increased shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics announced the evacuation of residents to the Russian Federation, and also turned to Moscow for help. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on February 21 signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DNR and LNR.
The Russian side emphasized that it does not hatch plans for the occupation of Ukraine, and strikes are carried out only on the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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