Image by Nikolaj Potanin
Russian economist Sergei Guriev told the Russian news outlet The Bell in a recent interview that the Russian Federation is losing $30 billion a year in reduced foreign investment after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. The West imposed a tough regime of sanctions on Moscow after the development.
Each percentage point that doesn’t go into GDP growth equals a loss of $15 billion, Guriev told Russia’s The Bell business outlet. The Russian economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2018, according to official data.
“If it’s 2 [percentage points lost], then [Russia’s losses total] $30 billion a year,” the chief economist of the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said.
Up to $300 billion has been lost since Russia annexed Crimea, the Bell cited Guriev as saying, adding that Central Bank data puts the losses at $320 billion.
“In total, something like $1 trillion has fled Russia in 20 years,” reported The Moscow Times.
