Kyrgyzstan dismisses West's demand to close some banks - PM

BISHKEK. May 14 (Interfax) - Western countries demanded the closure of certain banks in Kyrgyzstan but were refused, Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliev told reporters on Wednesday.

He said he proposed to Europe and the United States to conduct an independent audit of the banks.

"There are four top auditing companies in the world. We even offered to pay for their work. Let them check whether there are any connections or violations, and then impose sanctions," Kasymaliev said.

"They told us to close some banks. We responded that we cannot do this. People have deposits. The closure of a bank could destroy our financial system," he said.

Companies that might be involved in "some kind of schemes" will be closed, the prime minister said.

"We don't participate in circumventing sanctions. But at the same time we have close relations with Russia. We also explain and convey this. We get gasoline, fuel and lubricants, timber, metal and much else from there. Our migrants work there. There are also money transfers that they send. Some think that if rubles are handled at banks that this is related to something illegal. But this is not the case, this is money coming from our migrants," Kasymaliev said.