Kyrgyzstan Closes Dozens Of Companies Trading With Russia After Being Blacklisted By The EU

The companies are suspected of circumventing sanctions.

The Kyrgyz authorities have suspended the activities of companies in wholesale trade, transportation and logistics, suspected of circumventing Western sanctions against Russia. This was announced by the republic's Deputy Prime Minister Daniyar Amangeldiev, writes Radio "Liberty". He said the US and Britain had passed information about these companies to Bishkek. "After they report risks, we study them and react. We investigated and suspended the registration of 50 companies," Amangeldiev said. Authorities did not disclose the names of the companies.

On May 2, Amangeldiev warned of the impending measures. At the time, he said that if a company is found to be linked to sanctions schemes, or even suspected of such a link, authorities will cancel their registration. "Once a company's registration is canceled, it automatically loses its bank registration, cannot open accounts or conduct business," he said.

The campaign against businesses trading with Russia was launched by Kyrgyz authorities after the republic was the first of the former Soviet Union countries to fall under European sanctions for violating restrictive measures against Russia. Under the 20th package of EU sanctions, Kyrgyzstan was banned from exporting European numerically controlled machine tools, as well as telecom equipment, including routers and switching equipment. Brussels explained this by the high risk of re-export in Russia and cited a sharp increase in shipments to Kyrgyzstan of goods that could then find their way into the Russian military-industrial sector. According to EU data, imports of specialized electronics from the European Union to Kyrgyzstan increased by more than 800% between 2022 and 2025.

Some companies from Kyrgyzstan have also fallen under EU sanctions. Among them are Keremet Bank, Capital Bank of Central Asia, as well as companies related to the trade in electronics, machine tools and payment infrastructure. European officials were also dissatisfied with the activities of cryptocurrency platforms in Kyrgyzstan. The Grinex crypto exchange, which began operating last year, has attracted special attention. A7A5, a rouble-linked stablecoin launched by Promsvyazbank and Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, is traded there. The turnover of A7A5 reached $100 billion.

Western countries have long considered Kyrgyzstan one of the key channels for circumventing sanctions against Russia. After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the supply of a number of goods to the republic increased sharply, and then some of these products were transferred to Russia. According to Brookings Institution calculations, exports from Estonia to Kyrgyzstan increased by 10,000%, from Finland by 3,100%, from Poland and Greece by 2,200% and 2,100% respectively, and from Norway, the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic by more than 1,000%.

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