Updated 12:28 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) – If Russia returns limitations on moving capital, then the country will be thrown back several years, but rumors of that are unfounded, Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina said Thursday.
“We consider the absence of limitations on capital movement an important achievement in economic policy. The rejection of this achievement would actually throw us back several years,” Nabiullina said during the Russia Calling forum in Moscow.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg cited two sources as saying that Russia’s Central Bank is studying the possibility of temporarily limiting capital movement if capital outflow from the country increases. The Bank of Russia immediately denied the move.
According to the Central Bank estimates, Russia's net capital outflow in the first half of 2014 stands at $74.6 billion, with a prospect of reaching $90 billion by the end of the year. The outflow is expected to drop to $35 billion in 2015.
The Russian Economic Development Ministry projects the capital outflow to reach the level of $100 billion in 2014, and $40 billion in 2015.