BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyz financial institution Keremet Bank announced on Thursday its intention to contest a ruling by the U.S. Treasury Department imposing sanctions on the bank. The sanctions were imposed on the grounds of allegedly facilitating trade payments as well as aiding Russia in circumventing restrictions.
The United States implemented a substantial number of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, with the objective of increasing pressure on Moscow to cease its military activities in Ukraine during the final days of the Biden administration. Among the entities targeted were Keremet Bank in Kyrgyzstan and several others in China, accused of assisting Russia in evading sanctions.
In a statement, Keremet Bank expressed its plans to file an appeal with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The bank affirmed its commitment to conducting business as usual, meeting its obligations to clients and partners while upholding the values of transparency, reliability, and accountability.
The U.S. Treasury Department leveled accusations against Keremet Bank, identifying it as a mid-sized financial establishment based in Kyrgyzstan that collaborated with Russian authorities and the sanctioned Russian defense sector lender, Promsvyazbank.
According to the U.S. Treasury, in 2024, the Kyrgyz Finance Ministry sold a controlling interest in Keremet Bank to an entity closely associated with a Russian oligarch with affiliations to the Russian government. The acquisition of Keremet Bank was purportedly aimed at establishing a conduit for Russia to evade sanctions by facilitating payments for imports and receipts for exports.
Kyrgyzstan’s central bank acknowledged the situation and stated its efforts to mitigate the adverse repercussions of the sanctions on the nation’s banking sector.
(Reporting by Aigerim Turgunbaeva; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alison Williams)
