Russia already is seeing some fallout from new U.S. Treasury Department sanctions issued Friday against Russian oligarchs and entities as punishment for a variety of aggressive actions, including 2016 election meddling.
Russia's ruble experienced its biggest one-day fall for over two years on Monday and stocks in major Russian companies also slid ...
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Russia's currency plunged to its lowest level since November last year, trading at 60.24 to the dollar. That was its biggest fall in a single day since January 2016.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was watching events on the markets closely but that an assessment of the impact of the sanctions would take time.
The Moscow Times says "Russia’s 50 richest businessmen have reportedly lost close to $12 billion" on Monday.
According to the Forbes magazine’s real-time ranking, metals tycoon Vladimir Potanin was the biggest total-value loser with $1.5 billion wiped out. Potanin, part-owner of Norilsk Nickel, was not targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department in its latest wave of sanctions.
Fellow steel tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who has stakes in eight of the 15 entities hit with sanctions, followed with an estimated $1.3 billion erased from his $6.7 billion net worth. Deripaska led the list of Russians to have lost after the sanctions in percentage terms, having almost a quarter of his fortune decimated in a day.
Sanctions-hit member of Russia’s Federation Council Suleiman Kerimov rounded out the top-three with estimated losses of $1.2 billion. Russia’s ninth-richest businessman Viktor Vekselberg, also on the U.S. sanctions list, lost just under $1 billion.
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Seven sanctioned Russian oligarchs on the U.S. sanctions list lost an estimated $3.3 billion on Monday and posted a cumulative net worth of $32.5 billion, the Vedomosti business daily reported.
“Investors finally realized how badly things are turning out for Russia,” said Vadim Bit-Avragim, a money manager at Kapital Asset Management LLC in Moscow, who’s selling Russian shares today. “It seems like the U.S. has had enough. Foreign investors have to exit sanctioned companies, but they saw this order as a signal to exit all Russian stocks. Investors are afraid that now any Russian company is at risk of sanctions ... "
The Kremlin says it will work to back up companies hit by U.S. sanctions
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered his Cabinet to draw up measures to support sanctioned companies in the energy, metals and arms sectors, Russian news agencies reported.
Shares in sanctioned aluminum producer Rusal, which is controlled by the billionaire businessman Oleg Deripaska, plunged just over 50 percent on the Hong Kong stock exchange Monday.
Rusal said the sanctions "may result in technical defaults in relation to certain credit obligations."
"The company's initial assessment is that it is highly likely that the impact may be materially adverse to the business and prospects of the group," Rusal said in a statement.
Deripaska controls a business empire with assets in aluminum, energy and construction. He has figured in Russian election-meddling investigations in the U.S. due to his ties to former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who once worked as his consultant. The 55-year-old Deripaska is worth $5.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Ruble Experiences Biggest One-day Fall Since 2016 (Moscow Times)
50 Richest Russians Lose Close to $12Bln After Latest U.S. Sanctions (Moscow Times)
Shares of Russian Companies Tumble Following U.S. Sanctions (Moscow Times)
Russia to support companies hit by US sanctions (AP)
This Oligarch Lost $1.1 Billion on Friday After Sanctions Announced (Bloomberg Markets)
Russian Stocks Take Worst Hit Since Crimea on Sanctions, Syria (Bloomberg Markets)