Who bought dollars ahead of ruble downfall?

The National Bank sharply devaluated the Belarusian ruble on January 2. At the same time, a paradoxical situation could be seen at the stock exchange at the end of December.

For example, a mysterious cataclysm was noticed at foreign trades of the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange on December 23 - proposal for sale of US dollars was USD17.338 million, exceeding the demand 5.8-fold, AFN reports. At the same time information was spread at internet-forums about mass buyup of dollars at foreign stock exchange.

Taking into account collapse of the Belarusian ruble and sharp growth of the dollar’s rate in Belarus, someone got huge money by this operation. The Charter’97 press center asked famous experts to comment on this information:

Observer of “Belorusy i Rynok” newspaper Kanstantin Skuratovich noted it was “very possible” those who had known about the coming devaluation were buying the foreign currency. According to him, such operations are conducted by “informed” people even in democratic countries, and it is a common practice in Russia.

“I can just suppose the people who knew the information about the oncoming devaluation could do this. I won’t be surprised if loud disclosers will be made after the holidays, when people will come round. We may hear there were some frauds and some people may be arrested,” Kanstantin Skuratovich told in an interview to the Charter’97 press center.

Former chairman of the National Bank of Belarus Stanislau Bahdankevich thinks if information about mass buyup of the dollar is true, such operations may have been carried out by the people, who had known about the devaluation.

“If such a sum was bought, it looks like information about devaluation leaked from somewhere. Otherwise, I doubt this sum could have been bought. Those who were preparing the devaluation could have known this information. But I can just suppose. When I was head of the National Bank, there was a single rate and any frauds were impossible. I established the single rate to avoid any speculations. When the government established some currency rates – one for medicines, another one for oil, another one for gas (it was established by the authorities, not by the bank) and handed round letters to sell a product to someone for some purposes, it was always accompanied by corruption.

One can always gain on rate increase or decrease if he or she has such an aim, but when I ruled the bank, there were no such rate changes, because we have introduced currency only at the end of 1994, and single and stable rate was established in the country in 1995. So, speculations were impossible.

Speculations are always possible if someone knows the rate will grow tomorrow and fall later.

I have already told journalists I was deluded, because Alyaksandr Lukashenka who said there wouldn’t be collapse next year and was so convincing. I supposed if the International Monetary Fund has given a loan, and Russia grants a billon-loan, a small smooth devaluation is possible. I was shocked by the downfall as other people. I didn’t go to an exchange office. We should learn the situation, it may be just rumours. Of course, those who prepared the devaluation, knew what to do,” the former chairman of the National Bank said in an interview to the Charter’97 press center.