Russia prevented 291 illegal cash export cases worth almost $180 mln, minister says
In short
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said 291 cases of illegal cash currency exports were prevented between April and July 2026, worth almost $180 million, at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council. Interfax put the sum at about 12.5 billion rubles at the Central Bank rate for October 3. The statement comes after rules were tightened from September 29: individuals may take no more than 1 million rubles in cash to EAEU countries and to Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while companies and individual entrepreneurs face a full ban.
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Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said 291 cases of illegal cash currency exports were prevented between April and July 2026, worth almost $180 million, speaking at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council. Interfax put the sum at about 12.5 billion rubles at the Central Bank rate for October 3. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
“Thanks to control over the export of cash currency, 291 cases of export of cash currency worth almost $180 million were prevented from April to July this year,” Siluanov said, according to Interfax. “Here too order is being established and discipline is being strengthened.” [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
The figure follows a series of restrictions on taking cash out of Russia. Interfax reported that from April 1 limits on exporting cash rubles to Eurasian Economic Union countries took effect: individuals were barred from taking out rubles worth more than $100,000 equivalent at the Central Bank rate, while legal entities and individual entrepreneurs could not export currency regardless of the amount. From May, individuals were generally barred from exporting gold bullion weighing more than 100 grams in total, with exceptions in some cases. [ 3 ]
In September the restrictions in force since April 1 were extended to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and the limit for individuals was cut from $100,000 to 1 million rubles, with exceptions, Interfax reported. Vedomosti and Kommersant said President Vladimir Putin tightened the rules on September 29, and Kommersant said the threshold was lowered more than eightfold. Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs remain barred from exporting cash to those countries regardless of the amount. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
On penalties, Interfax reported that if the ban is violated, individuals' cash is confiscated above 1 million rubles, while legal entities and individual entrepreneurs lose the full amount. Kommersant reported that enforcement is divided among the Federal Customs Service, the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry, and that controls cover the EAEU countries as well as Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. [ 3 , 6 ]
Vedomosti and Kommersant noted that since March 2, 2022 Russia has banned the export of more than $10,000 in cash foreign currency. Kommersant said the tightening was prompted by pressure on customs controls: 6,314 cases of illegal cash transport by citizens were recorded in the first half of 2025, the highest for the whole statistics period, and the lower ruble threshold is meant to close a channel for illegal capital outflow. [ 5 , 6 ]
Why it matters
The announcement is the finance ministry's tally of prevented cash exports for the April–July period and comes as Russia tightens limits on taking cash and gold out of the country. The current rules amount to a full ban for companies on cash exports to the EAEU and three neighbouring states, and confiscation for individuals above the limit, with controls divided among the customs service, the FSB and the Interior Ministry. A record number of illegal cash transports detected by citizens in the first half of 2025 indicates the controls are being tested at the border.
Key facts
- Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said 291 cases of illegal cash currency exports were prevented between April and July 2026, worth almost $180 million. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Interfax put the amount at about 12.5 billion rubles at the Central Bank rate for October 3. [ 3 ]
- Siluanov spoke at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- From September 29, individuals may export no more than 1 million rubles in cash to EAEU countries and to Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with exceptions; legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are barred regardless of the amount. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Enforcement is divided among the Federal Customs Service, the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry, according to Kommersant. [ 6 ]
- Kommersant reported 6,314 cases of illegal cash transport by citizens in the first half of 2025, the highest for the whole statistics period. [ 6 ]
- Since March 2, 2022, Russia has banned the export of more than $10,000 in cash foreign currency, Vedomosti and Kommersant reported. [ 5 , 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said 291 cases of illegal cash currency exports worth almost $180 million were prevented between April and July 2026, speaking at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Rules tightened from September 29 limit individuals to 1 million rubles in cash exports to EAEU countries, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while legal entities and individual entrepreneurs face a full ban. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Russia has banned the export of more than $10,000 in cash foreign currency since March 2, 2022. [ 5 , 6 ]
- Siluanov linked the results to stronger discipline in controls on cash currency exports. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- When exactly the ban on exporting cash rubles took effect. Interfax says restrictions on exporting cash rubles to EAEU countries took force on April 1, while Vedomosti and Kommersant refer to a decree signed or a ban introduced in March; the documents do not reconcile the two.
- The precise scope of the gold export restriction. Interfax says that from May individuals were banned from exporting gold bullion weighing more than 100 grams in total, while Vedomosti refers to a March decree on a special procedure for exporting bullion and cash rubles worth more than $100,000 equivalent; each version appears in only one document.
- The currency composition of the $180 million and how much was confiscated. No document states which currencies were involved or whether the sums were seized.
- The full content of the Interfax report. Its article text is cut off at the end, so any further detail it carried is not available.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TASS reports Siluanov's statement that 291 cases of cash currency exports were prevented from April to July. [ 1 ]
- Interfax publishes the figure of almost $180 million, about 12.5 billion rubles at the Central Bank rate for October 3, and details of the export restrictions. [ 3 ]
- Kommersant reports the split of enforcement among the customs service, FSB and Interior Ministry and the record 6,314 cases of illegal cash transport in the first half of 2025. [ 6 ]
- Restrictions on exporting cash rubles to EAEU countries take effect, according to Interfax. [ 3 ]
- Individuals are barred from exporting gold bullion weighing more than 100 grams in total, according to Interfax. [ 3 ]
- President Vladimir Putin tightens the rules: the limit for individuals falls to 1 million rubles and legal entities face a full ban, according to Vedomosti and Kommersant. [ 5 , 6 ]