Interfax: Over $1 trillion moved out of Russia to offshore areas in 20 years – Federation Council Chair Matviyenko

MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) – More than $1 trillion has been siphoned off from the Russian economy to offshore territories in the past 20 years, Russian Federation Council Chair Valentina Matviyenko said on Wednesday.

“According to estimates by numerous experts, over $1 trillion worth of Russian capitals has been funneled to offshore jurisdictions in 20 years,” Matviyenko said in an interview shown on Rossiya 24 news television channel.

Matviyenko admitted that this activity is hard to regulate at the national level.

“There are dozens of schemes, including tax, investment, and corporate optimization in offshore areas. This is already a whole realm in which it is very convenient to conceal incomes and evade just taxation,” she said.

Decisions to resolve this problem are made slowly in Russia, while, for instance, Germany has found an efficient approach, Matviyenko said.

“It is absolutely unimaginable there for major national companies to be based in offshore areas,” she said. “We should put an end to this as soon as possible,” she added.

[featured image is file photo]