Page 8 - RUSRptSept18

months of this year.
The growth of real wages and disposable income growth in July remained robust , with real wages up to 8% growth y/y, increasing from 7.2% in June. Real disposable incomes grew 2% y/y versus 0.7% y/y in June. But taken together with rising inflation and the slow pace of growth consumption is expected to rise fairly moderately in 2018.
2.0 Politics
2.1 US Treasury postpones sanctions on Deripaska again
The US Treasury Department (USTD) again prolonged the deadline for shedding assets and borrowings of companies of sanctioned Russian tycoon and Kremlin insider Oleg Deripaska to October 23. Energy major En+, its subsidiary aluminium producer Rusal , and carmaker GAZ are affected.
This makes the fourth extension of the lifeline thrown to Deripaska by the treasury, with deadlines previously being set for May 7, June 6, and August 5.
Most recent reports indicated that En+ and Rusal are close to reaching an agreement with the US Treasury Department on removing the sanctions that have riled the company since April. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the goal was "not to put Rusal out of business."
The En+ lobbyist in Washington Mercury in the end of July requested to pause the sanctions . Mercury reported to OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) that Deripaska has resigned from the board of En+, committed himself not to seeking re-election as a director of Rusal, and had the CEO and seven directors he appointed in Rusal, and a president and a director in En+, all resign.
The lobbyist requested a brief relief from sanctions so En+ can finalise the last measures, such as converting Rusal shares of commodity trading major Glencore into En+ shares, as well as to "discharge an existing loan" held by Russian state-controlled bank VTB, and continue work "with Mr. Deripaska and his family to transfer their assets to approved organisations or trustees."
2.2 Kudrin to get more anti-corruption powers for Audit Chamber
Russia's Audit Chamber, which recently got a new boss, heavyweight policymaker Alexei Kudrin, is demanding a broader mandate to fight corruption , position itself as the know-how centre and the go-to anti-corruption institution, Kudrin said on August 3 as cited by Interfax and Vedomosti daily.
Analysts were disappointed when Kudrin accepted the job as head o of the Audit Chamber, as they were hoping the former finance minister would be given a more obviously powerful role as either special economic advisor to president Vladimir Putin or a deputy prime minister job in the government. However, it appears now that Putin’s plan is to tighten control over the government and use the Audit Chamber as the leading institution to police the spending of a mooted RUB8 trillion of new spending to “transform” the Russian economy. That means giving the Audit Chamber some real teeth for the first time.
Whatever transpires from the changes the Chamber’s star is clearly rising. Formerly a posh but inconsequential post for former prime ministers like Sergei
8 RUSSIA Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com