The Russian central bank may have uncovered yet another “unorthodox” way of boosting the wealth effect, one which bypasses the conventional commercial banking pathway altogether.
According to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, a thief has stolen more than 11 million rubles ($195,000) from a building owned by Rosstandart, where the Bank of Russia rents offices for its various divisions. The money was taken from the Central Bank’s building on Leninsky Prospekt on Monday, RIA added.
“An unknown individual climbed through the window of the building of the Central Bank, stole more than 11.4 million rubles and disappeared,” a central bank official said. The central bank spokesperson also told reporters that the thief had stolen employees’ personal property, and said that those targeted by the theft worked for Bank of Russia, which rents offices in the building.
The Internal Affairs Ministry confirmed that money had been stolen from a business in the area, but refused to name the company or the amount stolen. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated by police officers, a criminal case has been opened.
It was not immediately clear if the Russian “incident” would prompt central banks around the world to “stimulate” their own economies by pursuing a local version of the “open window” fallacy.