"Everything is simple!"

How Moscow and Donbass are fixed financial relations through Tskhinvali

Residents of Donetsk and Lugansk are not available deposits, loans, international currency transfers and international bank cards. They even have a very “conditional” mailing address - one subscriber box number 12 in the village of Kuibyshevo, Rostov Region of the Russian Federation, where all letters and parcel from the territory of Russia are going on before entering the self -proclaimed LDNR.

But there is still financial life here, because there is money-Russian rubles. At every step there are exchange points where these rubles can be changed to euros and dollars. There is even the “Central Republican Bank of the DPR”, and soon another, the second bank - the “Limited Liability Company” in the form of a branch of a banking institution of self -proclaimed and few except Russia recognized Republic of South Ossetia.

How Donetsk and Lugansk turned away from Ukraine in favor of financial integration with Russia - the Spectra correspondent studied.

"Cashingrs" and "Negrobank"

Full financial control in the self -proclaimed republics was established only by the spring of 2017, after the introduction of territories not controlled by Kiev and the trade blockade of the transport and trade blockage. By that time, there were no Ukrainian banks in the self -proclaimed republics, but millions of people continued to receive wages, pensions and social payments in hryvnia by transferring plastic cards.

And then in Donetsk a financial business to cash money from Ukrainian cards successfully worked. There were about 150 thousand people who continued to work at large industrial enterprises and receive wages for cards issued by Ukrainian banks, and pensioners received pensions to Oschadbank cards.

All the time to go to the controlled territory to withdraw money at an ATM is over and troublesome.

The financial office of “cashes” looked like a room with a table and a computer, at a serious percentage (at times it reached 10%), with the help of Internet banking, money from the cards was removed and issued on the spot-for this, the brave guys had to chase the contact line to Ukraine or across the border to Russia in order to receive cash in ATMs-in a legal financial space. The disadvantage of the scheme was the transfer of complete data from the personal card to the intermediaries, there were cases of fraudulent operations - these offices were definitely not licensed anywhere and were not checked.

Now this service is much less in demand - pensioners managing to maintain Ukrainian payments should still quite often ( once every 59 days - approx. Spectra ) to move through the contact line for verification either in the state “Oschadbank”, then in the electronic base of Ukrainian border guards.

The DPR did not survive the famous Donetsk “Negrobank”-under the pressure of the military left the streets of dark-skinned illegal channel from the dormitory of the Donetsk National Technical University on Bogdan Khmelnitsky Avenue, which have uninterruptedly worked there since the 90s of the last century. Some dark -skinned former students opened official exchange points - they are in the center of Donetsk at every step. Now their activities are licensed by the Central Republican Bank. Although, becoming official, they did not change their habits: one of the old ones changed said that, by prior agreement, he also changes everything at the “contractual course” by the old acquaintan.

Central Bank

In April 2015, the “Central Republican Bank” was opened in the DPR, by that time its pensions had already appeared in the self -proclaimed republic, the ruble was also introduced in order for the underestimated course 1 to 2 (in reality, 2.5 rubles were given in the “exchanger”). At this course, all Ukrainian pension departments that fully retained their staff counted all Ukrainian pensions, they determined the new utility tariffs that operated until the summer of 2019, and the entrepreneurs were forced to recalculate prices at this rate.

By August 2015, the Central Republican Bank announced preparations for the issuance of the first 300 thousand plastic cards, which began to accrue social payments, wages and pensions.

The Central Republican Bank of the DPR arose on the wreckage of the local Ukrainian banking system - part of the premises of the banks were “nationalized”, and the management of the Bank of the Republic never commented on which equipment is used to issue cards, and also did not discuss the conditions for “nationalization” of the network of ATMs. The local bank provides settlement and cash services and serves the issuance of pensions and wages of state employees and employees of state-owned enterprises (GP).

To provide other banking services, it is necessary to be a participant in the international settlement system - for obvious reasons, the state banks of the DPR and the LPR are not available.

At the end of September 2019 in Donetsk, the second opening of the second bank was announced - already from South Ossetia. “To establish that, before the entry into force of the law regulating banking activities, banking services in the territory of the DPR are authorized exclusively by the Central Republican Bank of the DPR and branch 1 of the Commercial Bank“ International Settlement Bank ”(limited liability) of the Republic of South Ossetia,” the decree signed by the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin.

All from Russia

By the sixth year of the war, it became obvious that due to unrecognized status, the entire financial system of the DPR is closed over and cannot be integrated into the international or to avoid sanctions-into the Russian financial system. But trade with Russia is carried out and rapidly developing: the number of wholesale food companies, logistics centers and intermediary companies related to the supply of products from the DPR and the LPR of the Rostov Region alone doubled. The number of transport companies has grown 1.6 times - growth was in connection with sharply increased demand for deliveries to the self -proclaimed republics.

“We opened our enterprise in Rostov-on-Don and transfer money to his account,” Kirill, an entrepreneur from Donetsk, told the Spectrum, “and our company, which was issued at one time at our employee with a Ukrainian passport, but Crimean registration, receives money from us from Donetsk and ships us the goods. Our Russian enterprise exports to Ukraine and, moreover, VAT is compensated for it - everything is beautiful and simple. ”

“Why does everything go to the DPR from Russia, but on the contrary, not very? - Cyril asks. -

So our export to Russia is overlaid with all the duties, as if it is Ukrainian, we officially not, but with Ukraine, Russia is waging a trade war!

But on our part, on the part of the DPR, there are no Ukraine, and there are no big duties, they are simply very low. ”

“Millions of people live in these territories, they all receive rubles from Russia, and someone smartly built everything so that there was such a good market for goods from Russia-this is logical?! - tells the “spectrum” entrepreneur Oleg, busy in the DPR in the production business. - This applies to everything: cattle for sausages, milk powder for dairy plants, water plants we have and they have powerful, but not a single alcohol plant in this territory - all the alcohol for our vodka also comes from Russia. My friend is trying to study pigs, he did a small farm - so he groaned, he doesn’t get to the prices from Russia ( the price turns out to be uncompetitive - ed. )!

For them, the supply of foreign economic activity with a return for “export to Ukraine” VAT is very profitable - this is very profitable - the entrepreneur in Rostov sends the goods to us and carries out a tax compatrilation. Look at the map - and we do not border Belarus anywhere, and we have a blockade with Ukraine - all Belarusian and Ukrainian goods also come here through Russian territory and Russian firms. I have not heard anything about licensing, we have 100% of goods from Russia, everyone is engaged in foreign economic activity! ”

However, such international trade is not affordable for everyone. “We are a store, selling industrial goods, we work here according to the general taxation system - we have an invoice in the Central Republican Bank,” says Victor, the owner of a large store in one of the small non -cellular cities of the DPR. - So everyone around us also works. This is the same as in Poland or Ukraine: they take cash, write out paper checks, pay a single tax - nothing new. These are only the so -called state -owned enterprises of the DPR work by bank transfer. And for us, everything is the same: stupidly copied the Ukrainian system-they only multiplied by two taxes and prices, transferring into rubles. ”

Taxation in the DPR is very simple: there is no VAT, but there is a 2% tax tax and a profit tax of 15%.

“We tried to purchase goods in Russia a couple of times, but it’s difficult for us - we need to open an account in South Ossetia, which recognized us, and Russia recognized them, the whole procedure takes a couple of months for us, we must receive a license for foreign economic activity,” Victor explains. - From ordering goods to delivery to us everything would have taken about three months, we did not contact us and take everything on local (Donetsk - ed.) The bases that specialize in this, adapted normally, and there are few of these wholesale companies - I know 5-6 and there are definitely no more than a dozen. It seems to be easier, but the whole assortment we have and all competitors are almost the same because of this-well, everyone has! ”

For trading with the LDNR, a scheme for the creation of NPOs (non -bank credit organizations) is used, in which both enterprises from the territory of the DPR and enterprises from Russia could open accounts. Over time, the NPO movement resulted in the creation of a large center of international settlements (CMR) in Moscow in the status of a “limited liability company”.

You can work with NGOs, but from the territory of the "strategic partner" of the LDNR - the recognized Russian Federation of South Ossetia, registering its enterprises in Russia. You can work through the Bank of South Ossetia.

Departure from sanctions

SCITIONS FROM SCITIONS OF SCIENTS CONSIDED AND EVERY OF THE EVERYTHING. At first, all enterprises in Donetsk, as Ukrainian legal entities, were registered in the Unified State Register of the DPR after which the business became tax recorded in Russia and opened an invoice for NPOs. It turned out that enterprises worked from the territory of Donetsk in Russia as Ukrainian legal entities without violating international law.

Ukraine put NPOs under sanctions, but the CMR and the option with Southern Ossetia arose. It was recognized by the Russian Federation, and South Ossetia, in turn, recognized the DPR and the LPR.

With her mediation, trade is underway. The largest industry holder in the self -proclaimed republics of Vneshotorgservis LLC and is completely registered in Tskhinval for convenience.

“I hear these letters from my chief accountant all the time: NPO and the CMR,” says entrepreneur Oleg. - The easiest way is that you find yourself a Russian counterparty and tell him: “I want to buy from you, but I can’t transfer money, could you open an account in NPOs?” They open, and you transfer money to them immediately. The scheme is also simple with Southern Ossetia. Since Russia recognized them, they have a system of coaching accounts between banks, and South Ossetia recognized us and the system of coaching counts between banks works, and South Ossetia threatened to open a branch of its bank in Donetsk here. Ossetia does not care, they can afford it! "

There are entire legal firms that support exports to Russia and the creation of “South Ossetian” enterprises with Donetsk and Lugansk roots in Russian territory even “without the departure of the head of the enterprise in Tskhinval”.

But over time, the schemes of work with Russia are simplified, talking about strengthening integration with the Russian Federation in Donetsk have the ground. It is not even about the fact that now in Donetsk and Lugansk there are tens of thousands of Russian citizenship owners who have the right to open a business in Russia. System steps are carried out on the spot.

The financial world of the DPR is developing in its own ways and is already promoting its “solutions” against the sanctions and economic blockade of unrecognized formations, although foreign economic activity itself for unrecognized republics from the point of view of international legislation is impossible. Nevertheless, there are already quite decent individual online mechanisms to solve financial issues of ordinary inhabitants from self-proclaimed republics.

From close rooms with tables with computers for “cashing” of Ukrainian banking cards, the local craftsmen came to the sites of “exchange offices”, which are already freely withdrawn money to cards of the “Central Republican Bank of the DPR” from all kinds of electronic wallets of numerous Internet services such as Webmoney, QIWI, Yandex. Money and accounts of quite real banks: “Sberbank of Russia, Alfa-Bank and even the state Ukrainian Privatbank.

Self -proclaimed finances are adapted, adapted and built into their unique system.

According to Spektr.press. With the support of the media network.