Translated material
The cost of war in Ukraine. Online March 3
The Bell continues to host an online video dedicated to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.
THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+
19:48 The damaged Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines will be sealed and mothballed, it is not planned to restore and repair them in the near future, Reuters writes, citing sources .
Gazprom believes that gas pipelines are subject to restoration, but Moscow does not see the point in this because of the deteriorating relations with the West, the agency's interlocutors say. One of them said that in Russia Nord Stream is considered a “buried” project. On the other hand, conservation will preserve the possibility of restoring gas pipelines in the future, sources say.
Preservation is likely to mean sealing off damaged ends and applying an anti-corrosion coating to the pipes to protect them from sea water, Reuters explains.
16:04 AvtoVAZ resumed production of Lada Vesta, moving it from Izhevsk to Tolyatti. The release was suspended for almost a year due to a lack of components. AvtoVAZ calls the updated Lada Vesta a “highly localized car”. Its engine, gearbox, body, chassis parts, seats and other interior elements are produced in Russia. The production of a new car, the electric version of the Lada e-Largus, will be organized in Izhevsk, and the development of the production of components for the Lada Vesta will continue.
15:46 According to the Ministry of Finance, in March the budget will receive less than 132.1 billion rubles of oil and gas revenues. And in February it was collected 12.3 billion more than predicted. Therefore, in March, the department decided to reduce the sale of foreign currency under the budget rule. Between March 7 and April 6, 119.8 billion rubles worth of yuan will be sold (5.4 billion on each trading day). In February, sales amounted to 160.2 billion rubles (or 8.9 billion per day). How this will affect the ruble and what's next, read here .
13:32 Raiffeisenbank stopped opening new accounts for legal entities
The Russian Raiffeisenbank has suspended the opening of accounts for new legal entities, as well as additional foreign currency accounts for existing corporate clients, as of today, learned Frank Media . The bank later confirmed this.
The reason in the call center was called the wave of applications for settlement and cash services (RKO), the strengthening of checks and the requirements of correspondent banks. “We can't handle the load. This decision was made only today,” the operator said. Restrictions apply to IP.
This week, the bank increased the minimum threshold for dollar transfers for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to $15,000, and will soon raise the limit to $10,000 for individuals.
Raiffeisenbank, as a subsidiary of the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, remained one of the few major Russian banks not under sanctions, retaining access to SWIFT as well. The Financial Times recently wrote that it has grown to account for 40-50% of all payments between Russia and the rest of the world. And last Monday, RBI quotes fell 9% on the news that OFAC, the sanctions arm of the US Treasury, sent a request to the bank in connection with Russia and Ukraine.
12:11 Roman Abramovich's partner Yevgeny Shvidler challenged the sanctions in a London court
Evraz co-owner Yevgeny Shvidler was the first person subjected to British sanctions and an asset freeze in connection with the invasion of Ukraine, who decided to challenge them in court. Shvidler's lawyers insist that in his case, the competent authorities clearly made a mistake: the client (a British citizen) does not and never had a Russian passport.
- Hearings will begin in a month - the court will have to determine the degree of involvement of the defendant in actions that are beneficial to the Russian authorities. The defense, on the other hand, believes that sanctions should apply to people capable of influencing the policy of the Russian authorities in Ukraine - and Shvidler does not belong to them.
- Shvidler, a partner of Abramovich, who is also under sanctions in Sibneft, has been an American citizen since 1994 and a British citizen since 2010, wrote Forbes . Last year, he asked the publication to stop calling him a Russian, like, for example, the founder of Revolut, Nick Storonsky, Telegram Pavel Durov, or the founders of Playrix, the Bukhman brothers.
- The British authorities are increasingly looking for opportunities not just to freeze, but to confiscate the property of those subjected to sanctions. This week, Bloomberg learned that Mikhail Khodorkovsky, recognized as a foreign agent, sent a letter to the British Foreign Office asking him to lift sanctions against banker Oleg Tinkov. The latter publicly condemned the war, renounced Russian citizenship and himself requested the British Foreign Office to lift sanctions.
The main thing for the night and morning:
- The personal meeting of the heads of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov and the United States, Anthony Blinken, which took place the day before, for the first time since the beginning of the war, was very unexpected and brief. Blinken claims to have urged Lavrov to end the aggression against Ukraine. The most remarkable thing about the meeting is that both sides talk about its low real significance.
- Bitcoin fell 6% to a two-week low ($22.3 thousand), a similar trend for other major tokens. The reason is a possible break in another connection between the crypto market and the world of fiat money in the form of the payment system of the American bank Silvergate Capital. The bank was hit hard by the FTX crash last year and now appears to have run out of steam.
- Experts from Yakov & Partners (former McKinsey in Russia) estimated a drop in oil production due to the curtailment of the work of Western oilfield service companies in Russia by 20% by 2030. Analysts do not see a way out other than import substitution with state support, and they also recommend that oilmen do not pinch independent contractors so much.
- The US Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice and the US Department of Commerce have given guidance on how to prevent circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions. There are thirteen typical “red flags”: intermediaries, among other things, issue settlements through third countries, refusal of after-sales service, insufficient presence on the Internet and transit through China or countries close to Russia - Turkey, Armenia, Uzbekistan.
- Yesterday's reports of a powerful explosion near Kolomna remain a mystery. No traces were found on the ground - it is possible that some kind of drone exploded in the air.
- without explanation Video conferencing service Zoom fired its president, Greg Tomb, who moved from Google Cloud just last July, . In January, Tomb gave an optimistic interview about Zoom's prospects, but the company soon decided to cut 15% of its staff.