Russian Federation

Russian Federation

Introduces measures to facilitate transactions involving foreign currency

05 Jul 2022

On 5 July 2022, the President of the Russian Federation issued Decree No. 430 “On repatriation of foreign and Russian currency by the residents who participate in international economic activity”. The Decree seeks to facilitate transactions involving foreign currency. The most significant changes are the following: 1) The decree eased the existing restrictions on currency repatriation. It requires Russian residents to repatriate foreign currency under all contracts denominated in foreign currency only in the amount corresponding to the percentage of the currency proceeds required to be sold on the Russian market. Currently, the determined rate is 0% of the currency proceeds. 2) Under the decree, Russian borrowers are obliged to repay Russian participants of international syndicates directly in the currency of their choice and not through the payment agents from the foreign states included in the "List of foreign states and territories performing unfriendly actions against the Russian Federation". 3) New rules introduced the legal basis for replacing Eurobonds with Russian bonds. Russian borrowers will be deemed to have properly discharged their Eurobonds obligations if they issue Russian bonds in the same currency and under same conditions as Eurobonds to foreign Eurobonds holders.

The Decree entered into force on 05 July 2022.