Russia’s Special Accounts Scheme Fails as Western Investors Stay Away

Russian authorities’ attempt to attract Western investors to the domestic stock market has so far failed, The Moscow Times reported on September 25.

A July decree allowing foreign investors, including those from “unfriendly” countries, to place funds in special accounts with guarantees against asset freezing has seen no uptake, the Russian central bank’s deputy chair Philipp Gabuniya said.

The accounts were designed for new investments in Russian securities, bank deposits, and derivatives. Officials say interest depends heavily on geopolitical developments, and while high returns could eventually attract investors, no applications have yet been made.

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War in Ukraine

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Earlier in 2025, some risk-tolerant foreigners bought Russian government bonds, but volumes were modest, counting only hundreds of millions of dollars—very low in market terms, The Moscow Times writes.

At the same time, existing foreign holdings remain frozen in “C”-type accounts, with earnings credited but principal blocked. Estimates put these assets at over $11.9 billions, far short of the $71.5 billions needed to cover all frozen investments.

Russian authorities frame the blocks as retaliation for sanctions that froze $300 billion in reserves and use them as a contingency fund.

Measures such as forced sales and exit taxes on departing foreign companies complicate efforts to restore confidence among potential investors, The Moscow Times reports.

Previously, it was reported that a new bipartisan bill introduced in the US Senate seeks to repurpose Russia’s frozen sovereign assets to fund Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction efforts.

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