The government proposed to convert shares in international financial organizations into debt to protect against sanctions

The Russian government submitted an amendment to the Budget Code to the State Duma, which will allow converting shares in international financial organizations into debt to protect against sanctions. The document provides for the possibility of reverse conversion of debts into shares on terms that do not worsen the original ones.

The document was reported by a source “Interfax”. The Ministry of Finance explained to the agency that the amendments “will allow international organizations involved in the promotion of economic development to create conditions for full-fledged functioning.”

The agency announced Russia’s readiness to reduce its stake in a number of international financial organizations in order to avoid them falling under sanctions. “The activities of these organizations are designed to promote international economic development, which plays an important role in the current conditions,” the Ministry of Finance noted.

According to Interfax, the Russian Federation has stakes in many international financial institutions and “some of them are “unfriendly”, and anti-Russian sanctions do not threaten them.” Among such organizations are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The agency will call “non-toxic” a small share of Russia in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The Russian Federation has more significant shares in the New Development Bank established by the BRICS and the International Investment Bank (created by the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). The share of the Russian Federation in the Eurasian Development Bank is 65% of the shares.