Sochi Games projects will lose billions, top Russian bank official says
Estimates 8 of 19 projects it's funding will lose money
Russia's state development bank says it stands to lose billions of dollars from financing unprofitable construction projects for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
VEB chairman Vladimir Dmitriev said in a recent interview with the Gazeta.ru news portal that of the 19 projects the bank is funding, at least eight would fail to turn a profit. The eight projects are receiving about $5.2 billion US, and Dmitriev expressed doubts the money will be repaid.
Among those receiving the credits are companies owned by metals tycoons Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska, and also state-owned Sberbank and Gazprom. All four have asked the government for help in covering some of their losses.
The overall bill for the Winter Games stands at $51 billion, making them by far the most expensive Olympics in history.