OREANDA-NEWS  The Russian Ministry of Energy has denied claims that the weakening of the ruble this summer was influenced by Indian rupees hanging on the accounts of domestic oil exporters.

"Oil companies return most of the foreign exchange earnings, the place of origin of which is Russia, regardless of the currency of payment. The delays are not of a systemic nature," the agency told RIA Novosti.

They stressed that statements about the connection between the conversion of rupees and the ruble exchange rate "do not reflect the real state of affairs."

Today, the ex-head of Otkritie Bank, Mikhail Zadornov, wrote in an author's column for RBC that the reason for the weakening of the ruble was the rupees hanging on the accounts of Russian oil companies, earned from exports to India. According to him, it is not possible to bring them to Russia because of problems with conversion.

Moscow has increased oil exports to India this year. In May, its share in the republic's oil imports exceeded 40 percent for the first time, surpassing the three largest suppliers in total — Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, RIA Novosti calculated based on data from the country's Ministry of Trade and Industry.