Russia has 2.5 trillion rubles more cash in circulation than at the start of the year. The central bank wants lenders scrutinizing where it comes from.
The Bank of Russia will issue new recommendations asking banks to look more closely at where their clients’ cash comes from, said Bogdan Shablya, head of the central bank’s Financial Monitoring and Foreign Exchange Control Service.
The Bank of Russia will soon release new recommendations urging financial institutions to scrutinize the origins of cash received by their clients, according to Bogdan Shablya, head of the central bank’s Financial Monitoring and Foreign Exchange Control Service. Shablya clarified that the recommendations apply to both organizations and individuals.
He reiterated that the central bank does not oppose cash itself, but is concerned about the circulation of cash with unknown origins. The recommendations aim to revise the typologies of suspicious transactions, covering deposit steps during currency conversions for both individuals and organizations. The source of this "unknown origin" cash is believed to stem from wholesale and retail markets, mainly illegal cryptocurrency exchanges in Moscow.
Since March 2026, Russia has witnessed a steady shift towards cash, with cash in circulation increasing by 2.5 trillion rubles since the beginning of the year, as reported by RBC. This trend is primarily driven by businesses' demand for cash, as they adapt to the tax changes implemented in 2026.
Written by urgent.news from Meduza (English)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
