A record US$5.190 billion in personal remittances was sent to Armenia last year.

$3.6 billion came from Russia, also a record amount.

Hundreds of Russians moved to Armenia after that country attacked Ukraine, moving their capital as well. These funds revitalized Armenia's economy but also caused local prices to rise.

Of note ius that the Central Bank also provided a brief explanation in the remittance statistics, which it usually doesn’t.

It is emphasized that both the money coming to Armenia from abroad and money leaving Armenia include various flows of both non-commercial and commercial nature.

"The inflow and outflow indicators of commercial funds have increased significantly in recent months. Transfers of a commercial nature are related to the export and import of goods and services, investments in securities, receiving and granting of loans and other similar operations," the Central Bank writes.

Thus, these amounts are not only the transfers of Armenians living abroad to relatives in Armenia, but also transfers made for the purchase of goods and business purposes, made by individuals. It is not clear which part is non-commercial.

In any case, the CBA’s explanation confirms information that after Western sanctions against Russia, when the USA and European countries refused to import or export goods from Russia, Armenia served as a transit country to transport the same goods to Russia. This was done not only through legal entities, but also through individuals.

Remittances from Armenia Double

In 2022, individuals transferred US$2607 billion from Armenia abroad through banks. This amount has increased 2.1 times (1.381 billion) compared to the previous year.