Billionaire Oleg Deripaska took part in the session “Competition of countries for economic growth. What is the plan of Russia? ”At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. This was his first appearance at the international forum after the introduction of US sanctions against him and his companies in 2018.
According to Deripaska, Russia's economic growth is hindered by two main problems, which are the Central Bank and the Russian judicial system. At the same time, there is also a promising area in which Russia has great potential, the businessman believes.
“There is no independent banking system in Russia”
According to Deripaska, in Russia there is virtually no independent banking system: "There is a Central Bank and its branches, if we are talking about banks with state participation." “Independent [banks] are living their lives,” supported Boris Titov, moderator of the discussion, business ombudsman. “For some reason, the independents decided to destroy,” Deripaska agreed. According to him, the idea of the Central Bank as a “mega-regulator”, which was created since 2012, did not justify itself. “He only consolidated the industry, which led to an increase in interest rates. If in the world the money transfer fee is 1-1.25%, then we have 6-6.5% at the base rate that is rather high, ”the businessman noted.
A member of the Forbes list recalled that former First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the task of a "mega-regulator" the acceleration of economic growth. “If six years have passed, economic growth has not accelerated, so you need to look, take another step, that is, divide,” Deripaska suggested. He believes that monetary policy and the structure of the financial market should be analyzed and reformed. The Federal Antimonopoly Service could observe the competitiveness of the banking market, the businessman suggested.
“I do not know such an entrepreneur who is satisfied with the Russian judicial system”
Another subject of criticism of Deripaska is the Russian judicial system. The businessman proposed to return to its reform. “What bothers me in our judicial system is the professionalism of the judges. And in principle, that trend in the formation of the judicial corps, ”the billionaire shared. - Today, 60% of judges in our country are made up of assistants and, in fact, secretaries. That is, this is a fairly closed elite group that not only does not adequately assess what is happening in the economy, but also makes inadequate decisions, as we see. ”
Deripaska added that it is easier to control such judges, but the quality of the system is of great importance for improving the economy and the investment climate. “Less than 2-3% come from advocacy to the judicial community - of course, an outrageous situation. Remember: “And who are the judges?” From “Woe from Wit”? - said the businessman.
He later returned to this question. “I do not know such an entrepreneur who is satisfied with the Russian judicial system at the moment. <...> We, entrepreneurs, would like to see more often in courts persons in judicial robes who understand what real life is. What is it - she visited or he was a clerk in court, he wrote the sentences as an assistant by decree, we all understand how this is really done. And he did not see life, he is divorced from the entire economic turnover and makes decisions for billions of rubles or establishes rights. This is not possible, ”Deripaska said. He added that in the courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration the share of acquittals is at the level of 2%. “We should not be interested in the elections to the Moscow Duma, we should be interested in how and who resolves disputes,” the billionaire noted.
What else was Deripaska talking about?
According to Deripaska, only investment can ensure Russia's economic growth. The country can find new opportunities in low-carbon energy, in which Russia has great potential. “This is our main competitive topic in the next 10-12 years,” the businessman said. In his opinion, it is necessary to develop Siberia following the example of the Far East, and also begin the privatization of small companies in the energy sector. “In general, it seems to me that the issue of crisis should again prompt the issue of privatization. We need to sell everything that is not needed by state-owned companies. This is a burden, ”said the billionaire.
Oleg Deripaska is ranked 30th on the Forbes list of Russia's 200 richest businessmen with a fortune of $ 3.6 billion. Deripaska and its assets, including the GAZ Group, were put on the U.S. sanctions list in April 2018. Three companies - UC Rusal, En + and Eurosibenergo - were removed from the sanctions list in January 2019 after Deripaska reduced his stake in them and ceased to be a controlling shareholder. Other companies and Deripaska himself remained under sanctions.