Moscow will run out of money by…: Russian oligarch Deripaska amid Ukraine war
Russia-Ukraine War: Oleg Deripaska said that funds have been running low and “that’s why they’ve (Russian government) already begun to shake us down”.
Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska said Moscow is running out of money amid Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion and is likely to have no financial stability by 2024. If Russia receives investment from “friendly” countries, the impact of Western sanctions amid Ukraine war could be reduced, the oligarch added.
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Once called Russia's richest person, the energy and metals tycoon said, “There will be no money already next year. We will need foreign investors”, while speaking at an investment conference in Siberia. Oleg Deripaska has also been impacted by the sanctions imposed by the US, UK and EU against Russia.
Oleg Deripaska said that funds have been running low and “that’s why they’ve (Russian government) already begun to shake us down”, Bloomberg reported. The oligarch also said that Russia has been facing “serious” pressure because of western sanctions and that the country needs to look to other nations which have “serious resources” to invest.
“We thought we were a European country. Now, for the next 25 years, we will think more about our Asian past," Oleg Deripaska said.
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This comes as European ratings agency Scope said that the budget deficit of Russia may increase to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), in comparison to the Moscow's forecast of 2% of GDP. The agency stated that the fall was a result of lower revenues from oil and gas exports.
“Sanctions and the war are constraining Russia’s fiscal flexibility … due to lower energy export revenues, higher war-related spending and a steady decline in GDP,” Scope stated, as per news agency Reuters.
“For now, Russia can finance its deficit relatively easily by drawing down the national wealth fund, set to amount to only 3.7 per cent of GDP by end-2024 from 10.4 per cent of GDP at end-2021," it added.
