President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov commented on the sanctions imposed by the UK and U.S. governments on some Kyrgyz banks to Kabar news agency.
He stated that there is no evidence that Kyrgyz banks participated in circumventing Western restrictions against Russia, and regarded such steps by Western countries against Kyrgyzstan as a sign of the politicization of the economy.
«In January, the U.S. imposed sanctions against Keremet Bank, stating that it could allegedly participate in circumventing restrictions. However, they were unable to provide a single fact confirming this. And they will not be able to, because such facts simply do not exist,» Sadyr Japarov noted.
He emphasized that there are 21 banks operating in Kyrgyzstan, and in order to prevent all banks from falling under sanctions, the authorities decided that only the state-owned Keremet Bank would work with the ruble. All operations will be under state control and the income will go directly to the state treasury.
Now, operations with the ruble will also be conducted by Capital Bank, which is under the control of the Ministry of Finance. As Sadyr Japarov noted, this decision was made for migrants working in Russia, who transfer billions of rubles to Kyrgyzstan every day.
«After the introduction of U.S. sanctions, a delegation headed by First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Daniyar Amangeldiev went to the United States for talks with OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control). We proposed to involve independent audit companies to check Keremet Bank and Capital Bank, review the results and then make a decision. But they refused,» the president said.
They were unable to present any facts, limiting themselves to the phrase: «we have information.» But we understand perfectly well where this «information» comes from — it is transmitted by local NGOs and our internal opponents in the form of anonymous denunciations. Sanctions are imposed on the basis of this false data.
Sadyr Japarov
«Now, as in the case of Keremet Bank, the UK is imposing sanctions against Capital Bank. And again without a single piece of evidence. Everything is based only on doubts. This makes me wonder: is this connected with the fact that the Kyrgyz economy is developing at a high rate? Our GDP has grown to 11.7 percent, and we are ahead of the CIS countries. Perhaps, this is how they put pressure on us, because large countries are not interested in other countries developing quickly. It is more profitable for them when other countries are dependent and look up to them,» Sadyr Japarov noted.
He appealed to Donald Trump and Keir Starmer asking not to politicize the economy.
The President noted that the country is pursuing a multi-vector policy and cooperating with countries, noting that Kyrgyzstan sells gold worth a billion dollars to the UK every year.
«In 2024, EU countries traded with Russia for $141 billion, of which $36 billion was imported goods from Russia. The UK, which imposed sanctions against our bank, itself traded $2.2 billion with Russia in 2024. That is, it turns out that they leave the opportunity to cooperate for themselves, but prohibit others,» Sadyr Japarov noted.
The attitude you demonstrate is unfair. If you do not trust us, bring your data. Our banks are ready to show all the reports.
Sadyr Japarov
«We are building our economy with our own efforts. Such steps can be regarded as interference in the internal affairs of the country. I have always said and will repeat again: Kyrgyzstan is ready to fulfill international obligations and is doing so. But I will not allow the interests of our citizens and the economic development of the country to be sacrificed. Even under the pressure of sanctions, we will continue to live and work,» Sadyr Japarov concluded.
