Russia intends to create offshore zones to help oligarchs under sanctions
Russian authorities are discussing a project to create special offshore zones to support businessmen who fell under US sanctions, reported Vedomosti newspaper.
Vedomosti’s sources say that offshore zones could be establoished on Oktyabrsk Island in Kaliningrad and on Russky Island in the Far East. The draft bill was developed by the Ministry of Economic Development and it is now under peer review by the relevant departments. The Ministry plans for its adoption during the spring session.
As explained by the source of the publication, those wishing to return money to Russia will be able to do this quickly and without taxes. The project allows foreign assets to be transferred from other countries, including offshore zones, while preserving their legal form. Residents of the zones can obtain the status of an international business company, which enables them to register a company in one day without disclosing all its information.
On April 5, the US Ministry of Finance published a new sanctions list that includes Russian top managers, businessmen and officials. Due to new restrictive measures, the share prices of En+ and Rusal that belong to businessman Oleg Deripaska have plummeted.
The Russian ruble collapsed and so did the Russian stock market. In one day, all the businessmen on the sanctions list lost more than $14 billion, prompting Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich to announce that the Russian government would support companies that have fallen under new US sanctions.