National Bank of Kyrgyzstan still hopes for U.S. sanctions on Keremet Bank to be lifted by March
BISHKEK. Feb 25 (Interfax) - Chairman of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan Melis Turgunbayev has held talks in the United States with representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department on lifting sanctions on Keremet Bank.
"We are currently acting within the framework of the law, appealing directly and requesting the removal of sanctions from Keremet. Typically, when a company falls under sanctions, 30-45 days are given to resolve all issues. The sanctions will only come into effect on March 1. Until then, we are doing everything possible to have the sanctions lifted from Keremet," Turgunbayev told journalists.
Until the sanctions officially take effect, there are opportunities to withdraw assets from the bank, including international assets, and to negotiate with clients, he said.
Commenting on the new sanctions imposed on the bank by the United Kingdom, Turgunbayev said that the bank is working on a daily basis to prevent further sanctions.
"If we did not carry out this work, in our opinion, there would be more sanctioned banks at the state level. We regularly meet, discuss the situation, and provide recommendations to companies and banks," he said.
"This is our daily work. At the level of the National Bank, commercial banks, and at the state level. We meet weekly, assess risks, discuss what lies ahead and how to respond," he said.
The UK government announced on February 24 that it was adding Keremet Bank to its sanctions list, allegedly to prevent Russia from using the international financial system to support its military efforts.
Earlier, in January, the bank was included in the sanctions list of the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). According to a U.S. Treasury press release, since at least summer 2024, officials of Keremet Bank had been coordinating actions with Russian officials and the sanctioned Promsvyazbank to carry out a sanctions evasion scheme.
At the time, the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan said that the U.S. sanctions on the bank had not affected the stability of the country's domestic foreign exchange market.
