PS. : This is mostly stolen Russian capital being repatriated.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal ------------------
Cyprus biggest investor in Russia
Moscow. (Interfax) - The largest foreign investor in Russia is Cyprus, the World Bank's chief economist for Russia said.
If one looks at overall volume, or total inflows of all investment, then for the first time in recent years Cyprus was the largest foreign investor in Russia, overtaking the United States, the Netherlands and Germany, Christoph Ruhl told Interfax.
Last year Russia received $2.3 billion in investment from Cyprus, $1.6 billion from the United States and $1.2 billion from the Netherlands, Ruhl said.
However, if overall investment is analyzed by separating foreign direct investment from the purchase of bonds, loans and trade credits, then Cypriot money is much less important for direct investment, which is usually considered the most beneficial since it means holding considerable positions in domestic firms, he said.
By direct investment, Cyprus is only in fourth place. Direct investment from Cyprus totaled $349 million last year, compared to $633 million from the United States. In other words, a relatively large amount of money from Cyprus goes towards the purchase of bonds, securities, trade credits, etc., and a relatively small amount towards direct investment, Ruhl said.