BRICS countries could provide an alternative to the US dollar if the international monetary system collapses, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Director for Russia Aleksei Mozhin told Sputnik.
"A lot is being written about the shortcomings of the current system. Moreover, many publications mention BRICS in the context that this association can offer an alternative," Mozhin said.
BRICS countries could create a unit of account that would be built on a basket of currencies of the five member countries of the group, including the Brazilian real, the Russian ruble, the Indian rupee, the Chinese yuan, and the South African rand, according to Mozhin.
"This proposal is being discussed. In case the US dollar and international monetary system collapse, there will be a need to turn this unit of account into a real currency backed by commodities," the Russian representative said.
He added that a possibility exists that the international monetary system could collapse.
"I think there is such a possibility," Mozhin said regarding the potential risk for the international monetary system to collapse.
Mozhin noted that that the existing system relies on trust that dollar assets are safe.
However, central banks and households are already buying gold - and other precious metals - as a result of the growing mistrust about the safety of dollar assets, Mozhin said.
"Once trust is lost, chaos will ensue in the global economy," Mozhin added.