U.S. removes former Sberbank subsidiary in Kazakhstan from sanctions list

ASTANA. March 9 (Interfax) - Bereke Bank, the former subsidiary of Russia's Sberbank in Kazakhstan, has been removed from the U.S. sanctions list, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Bereke Bank said in early February that it expected the U.S. authorities to lift sanctions in March.

The bank said the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had notified Congress of its intention to remove the former subsidiary from the sanction list since the bank had changed its owner to become fully owned by Baiterek National Managing Holding Company, whose shareholder is the government of Kazakhstan.

Bereke Bank said it was preparing to resume FX operations now the sanctions had been lifted. The bank did not stop its activities while the sanctions were in place and continued to provide retail and corporate banking services. The restrictions were mostly associated with foreign exchange transactions, in particular, in dollars and euros, as well as with correspondent banking and foreign services.

Russia's Sberbank sold its subsidiary in Kazakhstan to the Baiterek holding at the beginning of September 2023. The bank was renamed Bereke Bank. Later in September, the new owner submitted a package of documents to OFAC to remove the bank from the sanctions list.

The Kazakhstan-based subsidiaries of the Russian banks VTB, Alfa-Bank, and Sberbank were added to the U.S. sanctions list in March last year. Kazakhstan's Bank CenterCredit completed the acquisition of 100% of Alfa-Bank's subsidiary in Kazakhstan at the beginning of May 2022. Blocking sanctions imposed by the United States have affected the international business of Sberbank, including its subsidiary in Kazakhstan.

Sberbank Kazakhstan ranked ninth by assets among 21 banks operating in Kazakhstan as of January 1, according to the National Bank.