The mystery of the absence of the head of the Central Bank of Russia from Vladimir Putin's most important business event
Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina was scheduled to participate in two panels dedicated to cyber fraud and economic growth at Russia's most important business and investment event this year.
But Nabiullina will not participate in the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, and the reason is not clear.
The official explanation for her absence from this representative economic forum of Russian President Vladimir Putin is that she is on medical leave, according to a spokesman for the regulatory authority quoted by the RBC news agency, writes the independent Russian publication The Moscow Times, from exile.
The name of the head of the Central Bank was suddenly removed from the list of participants before the sessions of the event, which the leader from the Kremlin will also attend on Friday.
Absent for “objective reasons”
State Duma deputy Andrei Makarov, who moderated one of the panels where Nabiullina was to speak, said that the governor could not participate for “objective reasons”.
A source close to one of the Russian state corporations told business newspaper Vedomosti that Nabiullina was actually absent from the forum to attend the funeral of her adviser, Alexei Mozhin, who died on Wednesday at the age of 69 on the opening day of the forum dubbed the “Russian Davos”.
The Central Bank did not provide details to RBC about whether Nabiullina fell ill or whether she went to Mozhin's funeral.
St. Petersburg, the hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been hosting the investment forum since Wednesday, the fifth since Russia sent troops to Ukraine in 2022.
Just before the debut, Ukrainian drones struck targets in the city of 5.6 million people in a bid to embarrass the Kremlin chief and show how vulnerable Russia's cities are.
Nabiullina, in her third term
At the economic panel Nabiullina was scheduled to attend, senior Russian financial officials said the country had achieved absolute financial sovereignty and must permanently abandon any hope of lifting Western sanctions.
Nabiullina's third and final term as head of Russia's financial regulator ends on June 24, 2027, The Moscow Times notes.
President Vladimir Putin is legally required to present a candidate for his succession to parliament by next March at the latest.
