Russia’s economy hit hard as corruption and embezzlement surge
Russian rubles (Illustrative photo: Russian media)
From January to November last year, losses from economic crimes in Russia reached approximately $4 billion. At the same time, the number of such cases did not increase significantly, but each individual crime became far more costly, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Most cases involve fraud, embezzlement, or misappropriation of property, as well as illegal financial operations.
The largest losses were incurred through the theft of budget funds and abuses within major companies.
About 70% of all economic crimes in Russia have been classified as serious or especially serious. This indicates that the problem is not isolated but systemic in nature and is linked to large financial flows controlled by the state or entities close to it, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
The high level of economic crime is largely sustained by corruption within government bodies. The highest number of such violations is recorded in the construction sector, housing and utilities, and the military-industrial complex.
Experts note that rising losses against a relatively stable number of cases point to deeper problems in the Russian economy. The concentration of resources in the hands of the state, weak oversight, and corruption make the country less attractive even to friendly investors and further tie the economy to manual, state-driven allocation of funds.
Russia’s economy and the war
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Russia’s economy has fallen into a trap of bad loans that could trigger a collapse. The problem is acknowledged even by the Russian government itself - effectively, the Kremlin has already admitted a high risk of a banking crisis and widespread corporate defaults.
The key factor is the hidden growth of non-performing debt. Even when restructured loans are taken into account, the real volume of problematic debt has already exceeded 11%, reaching approximately $131 billion.
According to intelligence data, since the beginning of 2022, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has cost Russian taxpayers about $550 billion.
Overall, Russia’s spending on the war has nearly quadrupled since 2021.
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service believes that Russia’s financial and institutional system is increasingly sinking into a state of managed chaos. Banks are concealing ownership structures, civil servants are exempted from asset declarations, and entrepreneurs are barely keeping their businesses afloat.
