Capital Flight From Russia Carries $750 Billion Price Tag

(Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg Economics’ calculations suggest some $750 billion in Russian assets moved offshore over the last 25 years -- money that could have been put to better use in Russia’s economy, which has suffered from underinvestment. The bleeding appears to have slowed, though it’s unclear if this reflects tighter controls and mounting geopolitical risk, or if the flows have simply been getting harder to track. To rein in capital flight over the long term, the government needs to crack down further on corruption and put an end to what even President Vladimir Putin describes as predatory law enforcement.

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