Dollar millionaires withdrew 3 trillion rubles from Russian banks

The Russian banking system in 2022 experienced an unprecedented outflow of funds from wealthy customers.

Against the backdrop of war, mass mobilization and emigration, which claimed up to a million people from the country, citizens with assets worth at least $ 1 million took 3 trillion rubles from banks, Frank RG experts calculated.

The volume of funds of such clients in banks, investment companies and Russian investment vehicles decreased by 21.5% to 10.9 trillion rubles. At the same time, every fifth dollar millionaire withdrew all money from Russia, and their number among account holders in the Russian Federation decreased from 46.2 thousand to 46.2 thousand. up to 37.8 thousand

The money of the rich “migrated” abroad – this was the main reason for the outflow – experts Frank RG emphasize. According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, during the year, Russian citizens transferred a record amount of USD 63.7 billion to foreign accounts – 12 times more than a year earlier, and their total volume amounted to USD 94.3 billion.

More than half of these funds have been withdrawn by wealthy citizens, and the UAE is becoming the main center for attracting Russian money. As the Frank RG study showed, 15.7% of wealthy clients already use the United Arab Emirates as a capital holding jurisdiction, and another 16.1% plan to do so. Armenia (7.5%), Turkey (7.2%) and Kazakhstan (6.5%) have also become popular destinations.

The collapse of the stock exchange and the “roller coaster” of the ruble exchange rate pushed capital “into illiquid forms”, writes Frank RG: The Russians bought almost 100 tons of gold, spending half a trillion rubles on it, and on top of that, they sharply increased investment in foreign real estate (up to 1 trillion rubles ).

The absolute leader of such purchases was also the United Arab Emirates, where the Russians bought real estate for 750-800 billion rubles. Far behind are Turkey and Cyprus, where spending on real estate amounted to 100-150 and 70-75 billion rubles, respectively.