Kazakh banks obtain permission from OFAC to conduct transactions with Mir payment cards - regulator

ASTANA. Dec 9 (Interfax) - Kazakh banks have received permission from the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to conduct transactions with the payment cards of Russia's Mir system, the press service of Kazakhstan's Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market said in a statement.

"On December 8, 2022, regulators received a letter from OFAC, in which the U.S. agency explained that it did not object to individuals using the bank cards of the Mir system, namely citizens who have migrated from Russia to Kazakhstan, in order to conduct transactions that ensure their livelihoods," according to the statement.

"At the same time, the letter notes that transactions with this payment system remain under special control in order to prevent its use to circumvent sanctions imposed against Russia," the agency said.