Russia extends foreign-currency cash withdrawal limits

Under the central bank’s rules, individuals with foreign-currency accounts opened before March 9, 2022 can still withdraw up to $10,000, or the euro equivalent, if they have not used that right already. Any remaining balances are paid in roubles, with banks barred for six more months from charging commission on cash currency withdrawals. Transfers without an account and e-wallet payouts are also made in roubles.

The restrictions are a direct response to sanctions that block Russian banks from acquiring foreign cash, and the extension signals no near-term relief in that pressure. Non-resident companies remain unable to withdraw cash in dollars, euros, pounds or yen, while resident firms can access those currencies only for travel expenses within legal limits. That keeps a tight lid on dollar liquidity inside the domestic banking system and reinforces the government’s broader drive to force settlement into roubles and other non-sanctioned channels.

The bigger market lesson is that Russia’s financial system is still operating under emergency rules that can outlast the headlines. That is negative for foreign creditors, importers that need hard currency, and businesses dependent on seamless payments. It is a relative tailwind for the rouble’s administrative stability, but only because capital is trapped, not because the underlying external position has normalized. The latest rouble trading data show the currency strong around 86.79 per dollar, but that strength should not be mistaken for true convertibility.

For investors, the key takeaway is to keep treating Russia as a sanctions-driven, policy-distorted market where official exchange rates, cash access and actual liquidity can diverge sharply. Until sanctions ease, the central bank’s message is clear: capital controls are not a temporary patch, but a structural feature of the investment landscape.