The Ministry of Finance proposes to limit the convertibility of the ruble in case of a new crisis

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation wants to cancel the mandatory return of export revenue to the country for the liberalization of currency legislation, and in return asks to give the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the government the right to introduce tough currency restrictions in the crisis, the newspaper Vedomosti writes.

The restrictions will include the requirement from exporters to return the revenue, sell currency, receive permits for the purchase of currency, open special accounts for certain types of foreign exchange operations and reserve money for them, the report of the Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said.

The Prime Minister did not have meetings on this issue, Natalya Timakova, spokesman Medvedeva, told the publication. The representative of the Central Bank was not able to promptly comment on the letter. The representative of the Ministry of Finance does not comment with the prime minister.

Later on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Finance Vladimir Kolychev said that the Ministry of Finance has long been discussing the abolition of the mandatory return of the foreign exchange earnings of exporters to the country, and does not connect this with the expectation of the crisis.

For his part, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Maxim Oreshkin, said that he was opposed to the proposals of the Ministry of Finance to change the currency legislation of Russia, TASS reports. "From the moment we refused any restrictions on capital operations there were two serious crises-2008-2009 and 2014-2015. At these difficult moments for the financial market, the moments of very high volatility neither the government nor the Central Bank did not even think about the fact that some capital restrictions could be introduced," the Minister of Economy recalled.

According to Vedomosti, the Ministry of Finance proposes to introduce its amendments into the law on foreign exchange control. Now currency operations between residents and non -residents can be carried out without restrictions.

Hard measures are offered "just in case," the federal official explained to the newspaper. According to him, the experience of 2014 makes us be prepared for any situation, although now there is no reason for concern. What will be considered such a case, while it is discussed.

In 2014, a law was already adopted that allowed the government to establish the minimum share of calculations in rubles on export operations.

The new norm will have a wide coverage and will touch everyone, says the source of the publication, including those who temporarily invest in Russian assets. Investors can take such measures negatively, he admits, promising to act carefully.

The chief economist of the BCS Vladimir Tikhomirov told reporters that a return to this topic may be partly due to the possibility of expanding American sanctions and introducing a ban on owning Russian sovereign debt.

The introduction of sanctions will create strong tension in the bond market, especially the sovereign, the expert recalled. A lot of foreigners in the last year were bought due to high profitability, among them there are many Americans - this threatens with a sharp increase in demand for currency.