Georgia's banks resume servicing Zolotaya Korona payment system after analyzing sanctions - banking association

TBILISI. Aug 27 (Interfax) - Georgia's banks have resumed servicing the Zolotaya Korona payment system, the Banking Association of Georgia said.

"Servicing Zolotaya Korona was temporarily suspended in order to clarify the connection between Zolotaya Korona and another company that had come under sanctions of the international community. Following the investigation, the indicated connection was not established. Accordingly, servicing has been restored," the banking association's president, Alexander Dzneladze, said in the statement.

"The banking system complies strictly with the sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and Britain, taking decisions in accordance with them," Dzneladze said.

As previously reported, TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia, two of Georgia's largest banks, suspended receiving money transfers indefinitely from Russia via the Zolotaya Korona system. The banks attributed the suspension of service to technical reasons, saying that there was no official ban on accepting payments from Zolotaya Korona.

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on about 400 individuals and legal entities from Russia on August 23. The list of sanctions included the Center for Financial Technologies, a company that develops software for various payment systems, including Zolotaya Korona.