Nabiullina spoke at a joint meeting of State Duma committees dedicated to the main directions of monetary policy for 2027–2029. Her statement was reported by RIA Novosti, with details of her speech provided by RBC. The Head of the Bank of Russia stated that a significant portion of frozen Russian assets has been returned.
Among the return mechanisms, the head of the regulator named substitute bonds. According to RBC, she did not disclose further details, citing the sensitivity of the topic. The reports do not specify which assets are affected or which investors have already received funds.
According to the Bank of Russia, since 2022, assets worth 5.3 trillion rubles have been unfrozen. Another 6.7 trillion rubles accounted for assets and payments transferred to Russian jurisdiction. These indicators describe different results: the regulator separately indicates unfrozen assets and transferred assets with payments.
In 2024, two rounds of buybacks of frozen foreign shares totaling 10.6 billion rubles were conducted for small clients, Kommersant reported. There is no information in the published reports on whether these rounds are related to the mechanisms Nabiullina mentioned.
Neither the amount of funds referred to in her statement, the return deadlines, nor the distribution by owner categories were specified. The Central Bank also did not clarify what new actions it plans to take or whether clients whose assets remain blocked will be eligible for them.
