Why have billionaires pulled nearly 2.39 trillion Roubles from Russian banks?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Why have billionaires pulled nearly 2.39 trillion Roubles from Russian banks?")
Russians are worried that their savings could be used for the war in Ukraine. Photograph: (AFP)
Russians are afraid that the government might take their money to fund the war in Ukraine, and so billions are being withdrawn from banks every month. According to reports, this number could be around 2.39 trillion Russian Roubles.
Worried that their money might be used for the war against Ukraine, Russian billionaires are withdrawing billions each month from their bank accounts. According to a report, 2.39 trillion Russian Roubles have been pulled in the first seven months of 2026. The war has devastated the country's economy, triggering fears that the government could now seize people's savings by freezing or nationalising private deposits to fund the ongoing military action.
Ukrainian drones have dealt a lethal blow to Russia's oil refineries and other infrastructure. The war that has been going on for more than four years has already hit the Russian economy. President Vladimir Putin is being slammed for continuing the war at the cost of its own people. As the economic crisis deepens, people fear that the government could take over their money.
Russian banks losr billions of Roubles within months
Banks.ru financial marketplace data shows that around early March, the demand for cash suddenly started rising and has been on an upward trend since then. Around 300 billion roubles are being taken out of accounts every month. The trend has been recorded by five of Russia's seven largest banks. Gazprombank lost the most, 299.5 billion roubles, 10.8 per cent of its total deposits over four months, followed by Rosselkhozbank losing 270.5 billion roubles, a fall of more than 15 per cent.
Other banks include Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest private lender, which lost 179.4 billion roubles. Sovcombank recorded outflows of 81.7 billion roubles and VTB 20.4 billion roubles. Sberbank lost a combined 243 billion roubles in June and July. T-Bank was the only exception, recording an increase of 193 billion roubles.
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Russians withdrew massive amounts in 2022
The same trend was noticed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 amid sanctions imposed on the country. The central bank temporarily raised interest rates to 20 per cent and imposed capital controls to stabilise the system. Putin is trying to get more money in the form of donations from oligarchs, according to Russian business daily Vedomosti. He is trying to get voluntary "donations", and the federal budget registered an increase of hundreds of billions of roubles by mid-August.
