Foreign investors have withdrawn approximately $36 billion from Russia through asset sales between March 2022 and March 2023, reported the news agency RIA on Monday, citing an analysis of data from the Russian central bank..
Numerous large Western companies have left or reduced their operations in Russia after the West responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine with extensive sanctions on Moscow.
Last Friday, the Russian central bank stated in a report on the stability of the financial system that only a small share of foreign companies had actually sold their businesses in Russia and that many retained the right to return, according to the TASS agency.
From March 2022 to March 2023, approximately 200 sales transactions were completed, and in only one-fifth of them, assets worth more than $100 million were sold, the central bank highlighted, according to TASS.
Only five transactions approved since October 2022 involved payments to non-residents in amounts exceeding $400 million, they state.
According to them, these sales transactions have only a limited impact on the Russian economy, the Russian news agency quotes from the report.
– First, most of such transactions (…) imply the retention of necessary production permits, patents, and intellectual property rights. Companies continue to receive raw materials, materials, and parts; technical assistance and material support are provided,” states the TASS report.
