The USA and Europe Freeze Reserves of the Bank of Russia
The US, EU, UK and Canada have announced they are ready to disconnect some Russian banks from SWIFT, and have also limited the ability of the Bank of Russia to conduct operations to support the ruble.
The authorities of Western countries have explained their actions as a reaction to the events in Ukraine. The purpose of the planned measures is to isolate Russia from the international financial system. Specific financial institutions that are subject to restrictions have not been mentioned. The sanctions will also affect individuals.
According to the latest data, the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Russia (GFR) amounted to $643.2 billion. On June 30, 2021, 32.3% of the gold reserves were in the euro, 16.4% in the dollar, 6.5% in the pound sterling. 21.7% of reserves were denominated in gold, 13.1% in yuan and 10% in other currencies.
