MOSCOW, December 17 (RAPSI) – Senator Yevgeny Tarlo has proposed to launch an inquiry into the recent measures taken by the Central Bank to halt the ruble’s record decline.

“I propose conducting a parliamentary investigation of the Central Bank actions that violated constitutional provisions such as the protection of civil rights, including property rights,” says Yevgeny Tarlo, member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy.

He said that the Central Bank’s priority task is to protect financial stability in the country, but its recent actions, in particular a decision to increase the key interest rate from 10.5 percent to 17 percent from December 16, have produced an opposite effect.

On Monday, the ruble rate took the lowest plunge on the currency exchange since the default of 1998. Late that night, the Central Bank increased the key interest rate from 10.5 percent to 17 percent, explaining its decision by the rapidly increasing devaluation and inflation risks. But the ruble plunge continued on Tuesday, with the euro soaring by 27.7 percent to 100.74 rubles and the dollar jumping 24.3 percent to 80.10 rubles.