The IMF will consider the possibility of confiscation of foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Russia

The idea of ​​confiscation of the frozen assets of the Central Bank was previously raised both in Ukraine and in the European Union. The IMF promised to explore such a possibility,

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will study the possibility of confiscation of foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of RUSSIA, but it is too early to talk about specific decisions. This was stated in an interview with the Financial Times by IMF Deputy Managing DIRECTOR Gita Gopinath.

“We are discussing any strategy that will have implications for the entire international monetary system. We will study this carefully,” she said.

At the same time, Gopinath added that it is too early to talk about the imminent adoption of a decision by the IMF on Russian assets.

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In turn, the Financial Times notes that the confiscation of Russian reserves could lead to the collapse of the international economic system. The publication recalled that the decision to freeze assets has already caused concern in those countries that have tensions with the US and Europe.

Lavrov considered theft the possible transfer of Russian reserves to Ukraine Politics

As of April 1, 2022, the volume of Russia's international reserves amounted to $606.5 billion. The Ministry of Finance previously reported that after the start of the Russian special operation, Western countries froze about half of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves (about $300 billion). At the same time, assets in Chinese yuan, monetary gold stored in Russia (as of February 1, about $132 billion), cash reserves and special drawing rights (SDR, about $24 billion) in the IMF remain legally inaccessible to sanctions.

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On May 9, the HEAD of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, came up with the idea to consider the issue of withdrawing the frozen foreign exchange reserves of Russia. He justified this by the need to pay for the costs of restoring Ukraine after the conflict. Borrell cited "billions of dollars" worth of assets seized by the United States from the Central Bank of Afghanistan, which he said would later be used to compensate victims of terrorism and to provide humanitarian assistance to the country. The diplomat noted that "it would be logical" to consider similar steps with Russia's frozen reserves.

Prior to this, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced Ukraine's desire to withdraw Russia's reserves frozen in the West. “We have these negotiations [on the withdrawal of Russian reserves] with the United States, with all our partners,” he said. He added that the Ukrainian authorities are currently considering losses and assessing the damage to the country's economy as a whole. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky estimated the cost of restoring the country after the Russian special operation at $600 billion.

In turn, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said earlier that the Russian side would challenge the freezing of gold and foreign exchange reserves and was already preparing lawsuits. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of actually stealing Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves. “When, after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, our Western “friends” stole more than $300 billion from us, in fact they stole what they themselves paid for gas. In other words, they have been using our gas for free all these years,” the minister stressed.