Azerbaijan Tightens Currency Controls as Oil Feeds Crisis
- Lawmakers approve 20% fee on some foreign-currency outflows
- Economy reeling after slump in oil, two devaluations in 2015
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Azerbaijan, which devalued its currency twice last year, is imposing restrictions on the movement of capital, rolling out the most severe measures yet as authorities try to cope with the fallout from collapsing oil prices.
Lawmakers in the capital, Baku, approved measures proposed by central bank Governor Elman Rustamov on Tuesday, ranging from a 20 percent fee on foreign currency exported for investment abroad to fully insuring bank deposits. The manat has lost more than 50 percent against the dollar in the past year and is trading at a record low after the central bank relinquished control of its exchange rate on Dec. 21, prompting many Azeris to withdraw savings.