According to First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, the Russian government will not provide aid to businesses and depositors who had lost money in Cyprus. This is in line with Moscow's thrust to clamp down on capital flight from Russia to offshore financial centers.
Many of the depositors severely scathed by the recent developments in Cyprus are Russian in nationality. These depositors can lose up to 60% of deposits worth above Eur100,000 or US$128,400 according to an EU bailout plan using Cyprus' largesdt bank to aver the country falling into bankruptcy.
According to Shuvalov, when interviewed on television on the matter of Russians losing money, "It's a terrible shame but the Russian government will not take any action in such a situation." Shuvalov did add though if it were a large company where the government was a shareholder who sustains losses, then a review would be undertaken before any action would be done by the government.
Shuvalov said that much of the money was placed in Cyprus for its favorable tax treatment but many others do so to avoid Russian taxes and other charges.
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