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Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government, together with the Central Bank, to examine in detail the creation of an Eastern Financial Centre (EFC) to attract foreign investment.

"To expand the participation of international capital in our Far Eastern and Arctic projects, we need to harness the potential of the Eastern Exchange. As I have said, we plan to create a modern financial centre on its basis. I am asking the government and the Bank of Russia to work through all these issues in detail," Putin said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on 3 September, according to the Kremlin website.

The bill establishing the EFC is at its final stage and could be submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in the near future, Alexander Krutikov, a managing partner of the Crystal of Growth fund — a development institution involved in drafting the document — said on 2 September, as reported by Vedomosti. The EFC would create a special legal regime on Russky Island, in the Primorye region, through which non-residents could invest in Russian assets. The entry points previously set up for non-residents — the Moscow Exchange and SPB Exchange — are under Western sanctions. Settlements on foreign investors' transactions through the EFC may be conducted not only in rubles and foreign currency but also in digital currency, TASS notes.

Alexei Moiseev, a deputy finance minister, said at the EEF that work on the EFC bill had exposed three problem areas. The first is identifying investors and verifying the origin of their funds. The second is settlements, which Moiseev said could also be conducted via cryptocurrency. The third is high sanctions risks, both for the centre's infrastructure and for foreign investors. In light of these problems, the EFC bill is currently being revised, the deputy minister said.