Chapter 25: The Great Thief of the Country (5)

  State Bank of the USSR Securities Bureau.

  "Mr. Andrei Kuznetsov, this is my boss! Bob Clemens! You can discuss all the things I mentioned to you with him."

  Jerry gave Andrei three names: Andrei Kuznetsov, Alexander Proshin and Konstantin Meshcheryakov. Meanwhile, Andrei Budykhin, who had arrived in the Soviet Union a month earlier, only managed to contact the head of the securities department of the USSR State Bank, Andrei Kuznetsov, with whom he would sign a cooperation agreement within ten months.

  "Hello, Mr. Kuznetsov! I'm Bob Clemens."

  Andrei Kuzlov, a graduate of the Moscow Financial Academy majoring in International Relations, apparently understood English. "Hello, Mr. Clements! I heard from your assistant that you have a big deal and need my help!"

  "Yes, sir! Let's get straight to the point, we want to exchange rubles!"

  "Exchange rubles? If you want to exchange rubles, you can go to the foreign exchange area. The Soviet State Bank's external exchange area is open from 9 am to 5 pm! I think Mr. Bob doesn't need me for such things!"

  "Mr. Kuznetsov, I think you understand me! In the foreign exchange service area, we can't even get many rubles, and 1 dollar is exchanged for 6 rubles 26 kopecks, this price is too expensive!"

  Andrei Kuznetsov sprang to his feet, "What do you think this place is? A foreign exchange black market? I'm telling you, this is the State Bank of the Soviet Union. Something that endangers state interests, endangers people's interests - Andrei Kuznetsov will never do such a thing! The door opens that way, Mr. Kleimens. Please leave! You're not welcome here!"

  Bob Clemens turned around and looked at Jerry with a smile, "Foreign exchange black market? No. No. Mr. Kuznetsov, as the head of the securities fund business department, how could you possibly engage in such a thing?"

  We just want to get as many rubles as possible from the Soviet bank, of course, because the amount is relatively large, so I hope Mr. Kuznetsov can give us some discounts! This is a big difference from those unlucky foreign exchange guys! We Americans are absolutely not going to do such things! Of course, in order to thank Mr. Kuznetsov for his help, the commission will not be less either!"

  Rumors have it that there's an outside plot. Andrei Kyzlov's tone began to soften, "Mr. Kleimens, please don't blame me for putting the ugly things first. As servants of the Soviet people, we are to serve the Soviet people!"

  "Of course, of course! So, Mr. Andrei Kostin, if I wanted to exchange $10 billion here with you, how many rubles would we ultimately get?"

  Andrei Kuznetsov's pupils constricted sharply, $10 billion, my god! Andrei Bush said that big business is indeed not small!

  In 1961, the Soviet Union set a fixed exchange rate for the ruble against freely convertible currencies at par of 1 USD = 0.65 RUR. This exchange rate was maintained until October 1989, i.e., for 28 years. However, starting from November 1, 1989, Gosbank (State Bank of the USSR) introduced a new exchange rate for Soviet citizens traveling abroad: 6 RUR 26 kopecks per USD, which meant that the ruble devalued by almost ten times. The black market value of the ruble also fell from 1.5 RUR/USD to 15 RUR/USD.

  This guy is exchanging rubles on the foreign exchange black market, so the reason is obvious. First, he wants too many rubles. Second, his desired exchange rate is far from 15:1 (the black market ruble exchange ratio), which means this guy wants to get a bigger profit from here!

  "How much does Mr. Klemens want?" Kretzlov's hand with the cigarette was visibly shaking.

  Bob smiled and then held up three fingers at him.

  "30 billion rubles? No, this is impossible!" Kuznetsov exclaimed, nervously crushing the cigarette.

  "Mr. Kuznetsov, you are mistaken! What I mean is that for every dollar exchanged in rubles, we will take out 3 rubles as your commission! And what we need is not 300 billion rubles, but 300 billion minus 30 billion, which is 270 billion rubles! Do you understand my meaning?"

  Bob looked at Andrei Kuznetsov with a very relaxed smile!

  Andre Kuznetsov's mind was not at ease, it was clear that this young man had painted a big pie for him, and if he could help him get things done, he would get 30 billion rubles out of thin air.

  ！

  What a great temptation!

  The Soviet Communist Party is no longer the same as it was in the past, when it shared joys and hardships with the masses. The formation of a privileged class has led to widespread corruption and bribery. The children of this privileged class use their parents' special status to climb into high-ranking positions, only to become umbrellas for their own children, perpetuating an evil cycle! In such a system, can someone like Andrei Kryzlov really be clean and honest? The answer is certainly no!

  Yes, even if he didn't do such a thing, under the temptation of 30 billion rubles, there would still be many privileged classes jumping out to do it! In that case, why should we spare those guys?!

  "Mr. Klyaymen, 27 trillion rubles is not a small sum, I think I need time!"

  "Take it easy! Take it easy, Mr. Kuznetsov! $10 billion is not our bottom line, and we don't want to get all the money at once! By October this year, no matter how many rubles you can get, we will exchange them according to the proportion we said before. The Soviets need a lot of dollars, and we need a lot of rubles, see? This is a mutually beneficial cooperation! If this cooperation is successful, Mr. Kuznetsov, even bigger cooperations will follow! Do you understand what I mean?"

  Andrei Kuznetsov hastily wiped the palm of his hand, which had become sweaty with excitement, because Bob Clemmens was extending a hand to him!

  "It was a pleasure working with you!"

  "It was a pleasure working with you!"

  As he walked out of the Soviet State Bank with the securities, Bob Kleimens let out a deep breath, and Jerry, walking alongside him, patted him on the back, "Not bad, Bob! I think it won't take a few days for the first rubles to land in our hands!"

  "Jerry, are you sure?"

  "Bob, didn't you see the greedy eyes of Andrei Kozlov?" interjected Robert Soros from the side!

  "Sorry, I got nervous when talking to him!"

  A group of people burst out laughing.