RUSSIA INSIDER
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/03/23/4825
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/03/23/4825
The Russian
President warned businesses that the West may attempt to prevent the return of
capital repayments to Russia
(Izvestia)
On 19th March, President Vladimir Putin stated
in an address at the conference of the Russian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, that a plan for the decreased reliance of offshore business
could be met with opposition from a number of countries – although they as yet
remain nameless. As Izvestia understands,
the jurisdictions in question are primarily those under the control of the United Kingdom
"So this is the situation: there is some,
I would say, rather alarming information emerging from some countries
suggesting that there may be attempts to prevent capital repayments to Russia.
This may be due to the restrictions placed on the usage of such capitals, which
are in foreign jurisdictions. But it’s worth bearing in mind." - President
Vladimir Putin
As explained by a
high-ranking conference participant, the issue was discussed at meetings of the
government and Kremlin, and information about the potential blocking of the
transfer of offshore business in the Russian jurisdiction came from the Federal
Financial Monitoring Service.
"In general
the blocking of these funds can occur in those districts generally controlled
by the United Kingdom
According to the Commissioner for
Entrepreneurs' Rights Boris Titov, the threat of asset lock does exist, as
Russian citizens are now under scrutiny from foreign governments as a result of
sanctions.
"Blocking
and complicating the process of transferring assets into the Russian
jurisdiction is possible. The EU countries in this regard, have a
less aggressive policy towards Russia. I do not want to point fingers at
territories. It’s offshore countries that are controlled largely by Britain and
are a part of the Anglo-Saxon world." - Boris Titov.
The Head of the Russian Union of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin explained:
"Russian
citizens withdrawing large sums of money in some jurisdictions or other, may
also face questions...These are Britain ,
BVI (British Virgin Islands ) and other
islands, under the control of the Crown. This is
not a special measure against Russia in the period of sanctions; it is a
struggle for preventing capital outflow. We are fighting for the repatriation;
they are struggling with the outflow. In this regard, even if it is not a
special action against holders of Russian money, a large-scale amnesty of
capital and incentives for the return of capital in Russia, will be a cause of
concern for the authorities. Vladimir Vladimirovich [President Putin] in this
case is not intimidated by saying that if you do not repatriate, you will be in
for hard times."
