MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Investing in Russia is safer than withdrawing money from the country, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

"I think people who are currently trying to withdraw their capitals from Russia and build a bridgehead in the West are making a big mistake. Yes, we have bureaucracy, yes, there are enough excessive restrictions for businesses, but all the same the risks are much lower here," Matviyenko said.

She said in Russia money is protected better, while no one knows what happens to it abroad "in a year or five."

"The rules of the game may be changed unilaterally. The origin of capitals will seem suspicious or there will be another pretext to find fault with. The accounts will be blocked, other measures will be taken and you won’t prove the truth," she said.

"In my view, it is way more reliable to invest in domestic economy - construction of roads, housing, other large projects," Matviyenko added.

"The government plays the role of a key investor or of a guarantor in the implementation of large-scale projects, passes laws aimed at supporting Russian products’ manufacturers during the period of the country’s adaptation to the rules of the WTO [World Trade Organization]." She said. "We would like domestic businesses to take into account interests of the country. We would like the businesses not to abuse the so-called optimization of taxes, not to channel income into offshore zones and to more actively invest in the national economy. To sum it up, we want businesses to show patriotism."

The full text of the interview will be published on the TASS news agency's English website on October 28.