Russians pull billions from banks, fearing Kremlin will seize deposits for war
Households and businesses are shifting billions into cash and offshore routes as fears grow that the state could target private savings, bankers said.
- Russians are pulling record amounts of money from banks, with nearly $3.4 billion withdrawn in early August, according to The Moscow Times reporting on August 18, 2026.
- Escalating Ukrainian drone strikes and economic instability are sharpening fears that the Kremlin might tap private savings to finance the war, driving this exodus.
- Withdrawals have spread to major institutions; Gazprombank lost 10.77% of household deposits over four months while Rosselkhozbank shed more than 15%, forcing many Russians to store physical cash "under their pillow" for security.
- The Finance Ministry was forced to cancel planned bond issues last month after yields on 10-year government debt surged to around 17 percent, hampering Moscow's ability to finance the war.
- Economic momentum continues to fade, with GDP growth hitting just 0.3 percent, while businesses increasingly move capital through brokerage accounts in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia to escape domestic risks.
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68 Articles
The Russians withdraw billions of dollars from the country's banks, as fears of the war in Ukraine and the possible confiscation of deposits by the government put pressure on the financial system. Nearly 3.4 billion dollars were withdrawn in the first two weeks of August, according to data from the Central Bank of Russia. This followed the withdrawals of 7.3 billion dollars in July and over 4.5 billion dollars in June, writes TVPWorld.
Cash under the mattress: Russians pull billions from banks amid war fears
Russians are withdrawing billions of dollars from banks amid fears the Kremlin could seize deposits to fund the war; Withdrawals reached $3.4 billion in the first two weeks of August, after $7.3 billion in July
The Ukraine war is bringing Russia's economy to its limits. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has already confiscated assets from companies to finance the war. Now the Russian population is plundering their bank accounts to secure the money from the president. "Drones fly. Buildings burn down. Nervousness is growing, a former financial officer sums up the current situation in Russia. And the nervousness of the population is probably also evident by t…
Russians are withdrawing billions from banks out of fear that the Kremlin will seize their savings for the war, writes The Washington Post. According to the newspaper, which relies on data from the Russian Central Bank, Russian citizens withdrew 286.4 billion rubles (approximately 3.8 billion euros) from their accounts in June 2026. The following month, that figure had already risen to 6.2 billion euros, and in the first two weeks of August 2026…
Russians are withdrawing record amounts of cash from the country's banks for fear that the Kremlin will use the money to finance the war in Ukraine, reports the Wall Street Journal. Torbjörn Becker, director of the Eastern Economic Institute, says that a decrease in confidence in the banking system could lead to a crisis. "We who follow Russia have been talking about this for a long time," he says.
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