Russia Built $80 Billion Offshore Cash Pile in Year of Sanctions

Russia was able to save abroad about a third of the $227 billion windfall earned last year from its commodity exports, creating a potential new flashpoint as the US and its allies look to tighten their sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

About $80 billion is scattered across holdings of cash, real estate and investments in affiliates abroad, according to a Bloomberg Economics estimate. The stash amounts to shadow reserves, a byproduct of a record current-account surplus — roughly the difference between exports and imports — that helped sustain the Kremlin’s finances since its attack on Ukraine in February 2022. ...