"There are no direct foreign investments. They are afraid. But this is actively done through affiliated organizations," Konstantinov told Sputnik.
He said that Western sanctions prevented direct investments from openly flowing into the region.
Western sanctions were put in place after Crimea, which has a predominately ethnically-Russian population, seceded from Ukraine to rejoin Russia in March 2014, following a referendum in which over 96 percent of the voters supported the move. The Ukrainian government and many Western nations refused to recognize the legality of the vote, placing anti-Russia sanctions in response.
In 2016, however, Crimean authorities said that German entrepreneurs intended to invest over 250 million euros ($280 million) in the region.
In January, head of the republic Sergey Aksyonov said Crimea demonstrated growth in all economic spheres, as well as in the social sector toward the end of 2016.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!
