Good Read

 

Russia eyes sanctions workarounds in energy, gold, crypto

"Former Treasury Department officials and sanctions experts expect Russia to try to mitigate the impact of the financial penalties by relying on energy sales and leaning on the country’s reserves in gold and Chinese currency. Putin also is expected to move funds through smaller banks and accounts of elite families not covered by the sanctions, deal in cryptocurrency and rely on Russia’s relationship with China.'

"The Biden administration is working on a “focused tactical strategy” to make certain that cryptocurrency doesn’t become a mechanism that Moscow is able to utilize to avert sanctions, according to a senior administration official."

(Good Luck!)

The latest measures did include a carve-out that authorizes energy-related transactions with the bank. The penalties also do not impact Russia’s gold stockpile, which Putin has been accumulating for several years.

(Years...They been planning this for years)

Tyler Kustra, an assistant professor of politics at the University of Nottingham who has studied economic sanctions, said Moscow had already been adopting a “Fortress Russia economy” — producing many goods domestically even if it was easier to import them — to shield the economy from sanctions.

(Cause he knew what he was going to do when the time was right)

An increased reliance on cryptocurrency would be an inevitable avenue for Russia to try to prop up its financial transactions, said David Szakonyi, a political science professor at George Washington University, “but it’s unlikely it’ll serve as a substitute for corporate transactions over time.”

(Not sold on that just yet, the jury is still out and TBH? I kinda lean the other way on that issue, go figure.)

"Ari Redbord, a former Treasury senior adviser who heads government affairs at TRM, which among other things develops analytics on financial crimes, said his organization has identified at least 340 businesses in Russia that could be potentially used as “on and off ramps” for crypto currency.

Redbord said that because of the breadth of the sanctions, the amount of crypto that Russia would need to replace the billions of sanctions “would be very difficult to off-ramp into traditional currency.”

"Ori Lev, who served as a head of enforcement at Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control during the Obama administration, said that overall, “whether it’s using cryptocurrency or relying on China, there are mitigating actions they can take but they can’t recreate the financial system.”

(they can’t recreate the financial system." I am Not sold on that either as I believe it's all part of Putin's "long game" and it doesn't mean they wont die trying and that alone will create enough  havoc for years to come. One way or another, theres a new economic system coming alright. Count on it Revelation 13:17 )

"The Biden administration has argued that China won’t be able to make up for the loss of U.S. and European business and that sanctions cutting Russia off from Western sovereign debt markets will be crippling. At the same time, the White House has sought to publicly make the case that Beijing coming to the rescue of Moscow could be detrimental in the long term for China’s reputation in Europe and around the globe.'

(Those are valid points, but where else are we supposed to buy all our cheap junk from? 70% of all Wal Marts products come from China as do 40% of all the clothes sold in the US. Every time we impose sanctions its supposed to be "crippling" for them and it just never is, they always make it through. Thay gonna last us out on this one I'm afraid. Wait till the FED has to raise interest rates)