A Russian lawmaker has proposed legislation that would effectively ban the use of US dollars in the country.
The bill was put forward by Mikhail Degtyaryov of the LDPR party, which is known for its nationalist rhetoric.
If the bill gets through the Russian parliament, the country’s citizens will have to close down any bank accounts containing dollars and exchange their savings for another currency within a year.
Those who fail to comply risk having their dollars taken by police or other law enforcement agencies, who would then exchange them within 30 days.
The only government bodies allowed to use US dollars would be the Russian Central Bank, Ministry of Defence, Federal Security Service, Foreign Intelligence Service and Federal Treasury.
However, Russians are not likely to be running to exchange their currency just yet.
Before the bill can become law, it has to pass three readings in the Russian parliament and must also be signed off by President Vladimir Putin.
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One Response
Those with accounts in banks aren’t the issue. The problem is that the underground economy (everywhere, not just in Russia) uses American dollars (the old fashioned paper things). The US would be quite happy if this were not so since it creates tremendous opportunities for counterfeiting.