Kyrgyzstan's state-owned banks have stopped providing services to more than 130 companies due to sanctions risks

Since May 2026, Kyrgyzstan’s state-owned banks have terminated business relationships with more than 130 companies as part of efforts to strengthen sanctions compliance and minimize sanctions risks. This was announced following a working meeting chaired by Bakyt Sydykov, the President’s Special Representative for Sanctions Policy and Sanctions Risk Mitigation.

The meeting took place on June 23 and focused on improving internal control mechanisms, managing sanctions risks, and complying with international restrictive regimes.

According to meeting participants, the discussion was prompted by a request from the European side regarding the activities of a number of legal entities registered in Kyrgyzstan and potentially associated with sanctions risks.

Particular attention was paid to the efforts of state-owned banks to identify and prevent suspicious financial transactions. Since May 1 of this year, banks have terminated their cooperation with approximately 131 companies, 51 of which are clients of ABANK OJSC. Another 80 or so companies are in the final stages of review. In addition, since the beginning of the year, state-owned banks have submitted approximately 17,000 reports of suspicious financial transactions to the authorized agency, of which about 4,000 were from OJSC “ABANK.”

As part of these enhanced controls, state-owned banks check clients and payments daily against sanctions lists from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. They apply a risk-based approach that involves analyzing companies’ ownership structures, the nature of their activities, the geographic locations of their counterparties and suppliers, and their product ranges.

The LexisNexis-developed international WorldCompliance system is used to screen customers and payments. Banks also conduct in-depth analysis of documents supporting payments, verify the origin of funds, and request additional information when necessary.

During the meeting, it was noted that state-owned banks will continue to tighten their compliance procedures. In particular, special attention will be paid to verifying the ultimate recipients of goods and services, as well as the destination countries of shipments.

To coordinate this work, state-owned banks have established special committees for sanctions risk management, which are responsible for ensuring compliance with the sanctions regimes of the EU, the UK, the U.S., and other jurisdictions.

The Presidential Administration emphasized that Kyrgyzstan continues to implement measures aimed at preventing the use of its territory and financial system to circumvent international sanctions, while maintaining transparency in foreign economic activity and the trust of international partners.