The decree, published on September 29, applies to Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — the four members of the Eurasian Economic Union — as well as Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, according to Radio Liberty.
The new ceiling for individuals is 1 million rubles. The previous limit was the equivalent of $100,000, or roughly 8.4-8.5 million rubles at the Central Bank rate. The Insider reported that the permitted sum has been reduced by more than eight times.
For legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, the export of cash rubles to the listed countries is banned regardless of the amount. In case of a violation, individuals will have the sum exceeding 1 million rubles seized, while legal entities and individual entrepreneurs will have all their cash seized, Current Time reported.
An exception is made for exports through international airports, a list of which will be determined by the government. Money may be transported if bank statements certified by a bank and confirming the withdrawal of funds from an account are presented. The Moscow Times specified that the exception also applies to currency exported by companies as part of international transport, when the point of departure and destination lie outside Russia, as well as to employees of the Foreign Ministry.
Putin instructed the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank to approve, within three months, a procedure for recording cash currency exported from the country. According to The Moscow Times, the Finance Ministry, together with the Central Bank and the Federal Customs Service, intends to create a "single information circuit" to verify the authenticity of supporting documents and prevent their reuse.
The decree was adopted in March to "protect the national security and national interests of the Russian Federation, ensure its financial stability." In September, the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank said it needed to be revised to "whiten" the economy and reduce capital outflow, The Moscow Times writes. The decree expands the list of countries subject to restrictions, lowers the export threshold and allows legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to export up to 1 million rubles.
A different limit applies to other countries: since March 2022, foreign currency worth more than the equivalent of $10,000 per person cannot be taken out of Russia. Cash rubles may be exported to countries not listed in the decree if a declaration is present, even if the sum exceeds 1 million.