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Russia’s Finance Ministry rejects capital controls as inadmissible

The removal of barriers from foreign exchange operations is Russia’s serious achievement, the finance minister said
Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
© ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Russia’s Finance Ministry sees no conditions in the country to restrict capital movement, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

“I see no conditions, under which it would be possible to impose such restrictions. This is absolutely inadmissible,” the finance minister said.

The removal of barriers from foreign exchange operations is Russia’s serious achievement, the finance minister said.

“We are not going to abandon this because the situation with the balance of payments will only worsen,” the finance minister said. “I see only negative aspects in this [capital controls],” the finance minister said.

The imposition of any restrictions on the free movement of capital will generate unpredictability and serious pressure on the ruble, the finance minister said.

“The free movement of capital flows and foreign exchange is our achievement,” the finance minister said, adding that capital outflow from Russia was high already today.

“We expect it to decline,” the finance minister said.

Russian regulator launches probe into market manipulation

The Russian Central Bank will conduct a probe into market manipulation after reports on capital controls, the regulator’s press office said on Wednesday.

“In order to ensure fair pricing of financial instruments, the Bank of Russia intends to analyze the situation to reveal the signs of market manipulation,” the press office said.

The news agency Bloomberg reported on Tuesday with reference to a source in the Bank of Russia that the regulator was considering restricting the movement of capital.

This report caused panic on the Russian foreign exchange market, prompting large-scale purchases of the US dollar. Meanwhile, the ruble registered a new record low while the value of the bi-currency basket surged beyond the upper limit of the floating band (44.40 rubles), forcing the Central Bank to start foreign exchange interventions.