Financial Repression Tracker

Rules that steer savings into government debt or hold returns below inflation, country by country.

Block · Capital controls

Surrender and repatriation requirements for foreign currency and gold

What it is
Rules obliging exporters to bring foreign-currency earnings home and sell all or part of them to the banking system at the official rate, and in the extreme case obliging private holders to hand gold or foreign assets to the central bank.
Why it counts
They transfer hard-currency and gold holdings from savers and firms to the state at a fixed price, removing the main hedge against currency debasement and feeding official reserves.

When it was in force

  • United States: 1933 → 1974, historical
  • Argentina: 2019 → now, in force
  • Russia: 2022, historical; its end is not documented

3 examples

  1. United States

    1933 → 1974Historical

    Private holders had to deliver gold coin, bullion and certificates to the Federal Reserve at the official price, shortly before the dollar was devalued against gold.

    Executive Order 6102 of 5 April 1933 (forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion and gold certificates), followed by the Gold Reserve Act of 1934; private gold ownership barred until 1974Secondary source
    “All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a Federal Reserve Bank or a branch or agency thereof”

    presidency.ucsb.edu (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    United States today: index 42.9

  2. Argentina

    2019 → nowIn force

    Argentina required export proceeds to be brought home and sold in the official FX market, and empowered the central bank to require prior authorisation for buying foreign currency and transfers abroad.

    Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 609/2019, art. 1 (repatriation and sale of export proceeds) and art. 2 (prior authorisation for FX purchases)Primary source
    “el contravalor de la exportación de bienes y servicios deberá ingresarse al país en divisas y/o negociarse en el mercado de cambios”

    argentina.gob.ar (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    Argentina today: index 40.1

  3. Russia

    2022Historical

    Its end is not documented

    In response to Western sanctions ('unfriendly actions'), Russia ordered exporters to sell 80% of foreign-currency export proceeds credited since 1 January 2022, with further sales in amounts set by a government commission.

    Указ Президента РФ от 28.02.2022 № 79, п. 1 (mandatory sale of 80% of export foreign-currency proceeds)Primary source
    “осуществить обязательную продажу иностранной валюты в размере 80 процентов суммы иностранной валюты, зачисленной начиная с 1 января 2022 г.”

    kremlin.ru (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    Russia today: index 26.3

Examples and their dates reviewed .

Further reading

7 more on capital controls