Russian tourists in Indonesia are cash-strapped as a result of the restrictions

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

The transaction was rejected when Russian tourist Konstantin Ivanov attempted to withdraw money from his home bank account at a cash machine on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Unprecedented sanctions against Russia's banks in response to its invasion of Ukraine are wreaking havoc on Russian residents abroad, who are rushing to obtain cash or relying on cryptocurrency transactions to get by.

"This has posed a significant difficulty for us."
We've been absolutely robbed of our finances - it's as if they've been frozen and we can't utilise them at all over here," Ivanov, 27, said, adding that he may have to look for work in Indonesia.

 

Russian tourists came to Bali by the tens of thousands before the pandemic, and were among the first to return after borders were partially reopened last year.

According to data from the statistics bureau, about 1,150 Russians entered Indonesia in January 2022.

The manager of a neighbourhood cafe, Rifki Saldi Yanto, claimed he had seen a drop in the number of Russian clients in recent days, and that many now pay with cash rather than credit card.