Russian billionaire unhappy with economic fallout from sanctions / The New Voice of Ukraine

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, co-owner of the world’s second biggest aluminum producer Rusal, has said he is angry at the Russian Central Bank raising interest rates to 20% and ordering exporters to sell 80% of their foreign currency.

“(Interest) rate hike, mandatary currency sell-off – they might even use their official exchange rate for this – (this) is the first indicator of who’s really going to pay for this party,” Deripaska said in a post on the Telegram instant messaging service on Feb. 28.

He added that there is a need for “explanations and clear comments on (Russian) economic policy for the next three months.”

“Since this is a real crisis, we need real crisis managers – not some blue-sky thinkers with a bunch of slide presentations,” the message said.

“Unlike 2014, we won’t be able to wait this one out; It’s high time we change (our) economic policy and put an end to this state capitalism.”

Earlier, the United States and the European Union introduced wide-ranging sanctions against Russian for its unprovoked war on Ukraine. These include bans on Russia’s Central Bank conducting transaction in euros and U.S. dollars, disconnecting major Russian banks from the SWIFT bank payments system, and freezing the assets of the Moscow elite – MPs, billionaires, and individuals enabling the Kremlin’s capacity to wage war in Ukraine.

Editor: Romeo Kokriatski