The EU has imposed sanctions on a Kyrgyz bank and 14 crypto platforms

The European Union has approved its 21st package of sanctions against Russia, which for the first time includes a Kyrgyz bank. According to the Council of the EU, the restrictions have been imposed on a Kyrgyz bank linked to Russia’s Financial Messaging System (SPFS), which is used as an alternative to SWIFT. 

According to the European Union register, the institution in question is OJSC ‘EcoIslamicBank’.

The new package significantly tightens restrictions on the Russian financial sector. In particular, the EU has frozen the assets of and prohibited the provision of funds to 94 Russian banks and major financial institutions, and has extended the ban on transactions to a further 33 Russian credit and financial organisations. In addition to the Kyrgyz bank, similar measures have been imposed on three further banks from third countries which, in the EU’s view, were involved in circumventing sanctions.

Furthermore, the EU has expanded sanctions against the A7 cross-border network, adding four more affiliated entities to the list, including new links to Africa. According to European authorities, the network was used to facilitate cross-border financial transactions in circumvention of existing restrictions.

The ban on transactions has also been extended to 14 cryptocurrency-related platforms registered in Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands and Belarus. According to the EU, these were also used to circumvent the sanctions regime.

In addition, the Council of the EU has included a number of companies from third countries, including Kyrgyzstan, on the list of organisations subject to enhanced export controls. According to the European side, these companies facilitated the circumvention of export restrictions on the supply of dual-use goods and technologies, including microelectronics, CNC machine tools and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

In total, the 21st package of sanctions includes restrictions targeting 218 individuals and legal entities, as well as additional measures against Russia’s financial, energy, defence-industrial and transport sectors.