Russian Businesses See Billions Stuck Abroad on Payment Delays
- Foreign financial assets jumped by $45 billion in Jan.-July
- US sanctions threat has slowed international payments
The Moscow International Business Center.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Russian businesses saw a massive jump this year in the amount of cash piling up abroad as the threat of secondary financial sanctions from the US causes increasing delays in international trade settlements.
Foreign financial assets increased by almost $45 billion in the first seven months compared with a gain of $21 billion in the same period the previous year, according to Bank of Russia data published Tuesday. While some of that is investment abroad, the surge is mainly an accumulation of Russian companies’ accounts receivable due to difficulties with international payments, the central bank said.