“The Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation considers it appropriate to recommend to the Government of Russia to instruct the Ministry of Finance of Russia, with the participation of the Bank of Russia, by July 29, 2022, to analyze the current structure of the NWF funds in terms of increasing the safety and possibility of prompt use of the NWF funds,” the statement says.
In particular, the department proposed to consider the exclusion from the NWF of the share of funds placed in foreign currencies of states that have imposed sanctions against Russia.
The department noted that due to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed in 2022 by a number of foreign states, the accounts of the Bank of Russia in euros, pounds sterling and Japanese yen were blocked.
At the end of June, the US Treasury Department announced that more than $330 billion worth of assets of the Central Bank of Russia and Russians under sanctions were blocked or frozen in 100 days.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted that the Russian side regards the freezing of its reserves abroad as theft.