15:12, 02 декабря 2025, Bishkek - 24-kg.com news agency , Turdubek AIGYROV
The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has released for public discussions a draft amendment to several of its regulatory acts related to countering the financing of criminal activity and money laundering in the payment sector.
According to the document, changes are being introduced to 15 resolutions of the National Bank Board — ranging from rules for money transfers and remote banking services to the regulation of payment organizations, payment system operators, electronic money, financial marketplaces, and services linked to virtual assets.
The draft proposes to unify terminology across the National Bank’s regulations in line with the new Law «On Countering the Financing of Criminal Activity and Money Laundering» (CFT/AML). In particular, the term «financing of terrorist activity» is replaced with the broader concept of «financing of criminal activity,» and the use of the CFT/AML abbreviation is clarified.
The amendments further specify requirements for identifying and verifying clients and beneficial owners of accounts, as well as for recording and storing information on money transfers, operations with e-wallets, bank cards and QR payments.
Banks, payment organizations and their agents will be required to retain data on transactions and customer due diligence for at least five years, ensure the ability to reconstruct the full transaction chain, and provide information upon request from supervisory and law enforcement bodies.
The National Bank also formalizes the right to refuse registration of an operator of an international money transfer system if the company is registered in an offshore jurisdiction or a high-risk country listed by the financial intelligence authority. Additional amendments concern the application of sanctions lists, targeted financial sanctions, and measures regarding clients and counterparties from high-risk countries.
Requirements for internal CFT/AML control programs within payment organizations and payment system operators are also tightened and clarified. These programs must include risk assessment, ongoing transaction monitoring, procedures for working with politically exposed persons, staff training, and the extension of these controls to agents and subagents.