OREANDA-NEWS  About a third of the $227 billion received in 2022 from the export of raw materials, Russia left abroad, hiding in offshore, Bloomberg writes, citing its own calculations.

Bloomberg Economics estimates that about $80 billion is held abroad in the form of cash, real estate or investments in companies. The agency calls this money the "shadow reserves" of Russia, which were formed due to a record current account surplus.

Maria Shagina, an economist from the British International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that due to the slowness of Europe in imposing sanctions on the Russian energy sector, the de facto effect of freezing the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has been nullified.

According to experts, dollars hidden offshore may become a new target within the framework of sanctions against Russia against the background of a decrease in the West's dependence on Russian energy carriers. However, it is not yet known where these funds are stored and who controls them.

Earlier, Bret Sester, senior researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that Russia has a "new Central Bank" with reserves of $90 billion, formed due to record commodity revenues in 2022. Most of the funds are accounted for by Gazprombank, according to Bret Sisters, an economist at IIF and Robin Brooks. According to Brooks, Gazprombank can de facto be considered a "new Central Bank", since it is the last of the large state-owned banks that retained access to SWIFT and settlements in euros, and also turned into a "pot" of raw revenue during the year.