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Kremlin aide: сapital flight from Russia in 2014 may reach USD 60-80 billion

NOVO OGAREVO, March 26, /ITAR-TASS/. Capital flight from Russia in 2014 may reach 60-80 billion U.S. dollars and or even 100 billion U.S. dollars with Central Bank interventions, presidential aide Andrei Belousov said on Wednesday, March 26.

“I think this figure [capital outflow] will be around 60-80 billion U.S. dollars and will amount to 100 billion U.S. dollars with interventions,” Belousov said, adding that the money the Central Bank uses for interventions “go out of the country right away”.

He noted, however, that “this year’s capital flight will exceed last year’s figures but not by much”.

Capital flight in the first quarter of the year is estimated at 65-70 billion U.S. dollars.

Some 37 billion U.S. dollars were taken out of the country in January and February 2014 and “65-70 [billion U.S. dollars] in the first quarter,” Deputy Minister of Economic Development Andrei Klepach said.

He admitted that the U.S. and EU sanctions spurred capital flight from Russia. “Speaking of sanctions, they are not economic so far, but the cooling of relations is a negative factor for economic growth and affects capital outflow,” he said.