Footage apparently taken at a shopping mall in Russia appears to show a man throwing money into the air and letting it rain down on shoppers below.
The value of Russia's currency took a nosedive after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops across the border into Ukraine, with the ruble reportedly having so far lost more than 64% to the dollar this year to reach a record low.
Latest figures indicate one ruble is currently equivalent to £0.0065, or $0.0085, and with the trend unlikely to change any time soon one shopper appeared to give up on the currency altogether.
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See the footage below:
The video, which has been shared across a number of Reddit threads, shows what appear to be bank notes fluttering down to the lower level of the shopping mall as a man on an upper level casts the cash over the railing, quite literally making it rain money.
Alongside the video, one of the accounts that shared the footage wrote: 'Russian man throwing money in a shopping mall because the ruble is effectively worthless.'
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While the sight of somebody effectively giving away free cash would normally be enough to start a frenzy among members of the public looking to grab it for themselves, no one on the lower level of the mall seemed bothered about taking ownership of the money – perhaps due to its lack of worth.
In a bid to halt the decline of the currency, the Russian Central Bank this week issued an order that restricted customers from withdrawing US dollars, stating that owners of foreign-currency accounts were only allowed to withdraw up to $10,000. Any remaining money that customers wished to withdraw would have to be taken out in rubles.
Similarly, while new foreign-currency accounts are still allowed to be opened, only rubles will be permitted to be withdrawn, The New York Times reports.
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The order is set to remain in place until September 9, during which time banks will also be restricted from selling foreign currency to Russians. In establishing the order, the bank seemingly hopes to curb the ability of customers converting their rubles into other currencies in a bid to support its own.
The bank explained that currency controls have been tightened as a result of the sanctions imposed by Western leaders, which have restricted access to a large share of the Central Bank’s hard currency reserves as the war in Ukraine continues.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Topics: Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Money