Citing five sources, Reuters reports that President Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities are discussing bringing back the compulsory sale of foreign currency revenues for exporters. The decision could be made “at any moment.” This follows the jacking up of interest rates to 12 percent. Russia’s central bank and Finance Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
At the beginning of the Special Military Operation, such controls were implemented. Exporters were required to convert 80% of foreign exchange revenues, which helped send the ruble to its strongest position in over seven years last June.
One source at an exporting firm told Reuters that the discussions concerned the forced conversion of up to 90% of exporters’ revenues while another said a range of 80%-90% was being discussed, with conversion required within 70 to 90 days after the export of goods.
