Cowboy money trickling into Russian market, but lifting sanctions would open investment floodgates - MinFin

MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry does not have precise data on demand for Russian assets among non-residents, but indirect factors suggest that while small amounts of venture money flow into Russia via 'friendly infrastructure', there will be a real flood of investments if sanctions are lifted, Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said.

"There are no figures yet, but this is about the so-called 'cowboy money' of hedge funds who are even prepared to risk the sanctions regime just to earn small profits via friendly jurisdictions. Most of all, we can see this from changes in federal loan bond prices, in the ruble exchange rate - it's starting to trickle in. At the moment they are only small sums, obviously, and we can't draw any real conclusions as they are using friendly infrastructure," Chebeskov told journalists at the sidelines of the Financial Market Strategic Session forum organized by Expert RA.

Asked whether the Finance Ministry expected a greater investment flow if sanctions are loosened, he said: "Absolutely. We're not just expecting that - we're counting on it. We see our market as a very attractive one where debt instruments and shares are concerned."

Chebeskov also said that he expects to see investment from wealthy Russians as well as foreigners. "It won't only be foreign money, but that of rich Russians which has previously been kept overseas, in Swiss banks and so on. If I remember rightly, we conducted an analysis in 2021 which showed that, at that moment, the equivalent of around $500 billion was being held by Russian citizens overseas, mainly as investments in foreign assets. We expect that some of this money will also find its way onto the capital market," the deputy minister said.