DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan /Economy & Trade

Kyrgyzstan Regulator Defends Licenses for Sanctioned Crypto Firms

From 24.kg · () Russian

Translated from Russian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Kyrgyzstan's financial regulator has not suspended licenses for local crypto market participants sanctioned by the US and UK.
  • Chairman Kairat Mamatov stated that the entities met Kyrgyzstan's legal requirements at the time of licensing.
  • The regulator lacks detailed information on the reasons behind the foreign sanctions and has no legal grounds to revoke the licenses.

Kyrgyzstan's financial regulator has maintained licenses for local cryptocurrency market participants targeted by U.S. and U.K. sanctions, citing compliance with national laws at the time of issuance. Kairat Mamatov, chairman of the Financial Regulatory Service, explained that the sanctioned entities, including the issuer of the national stablecoin USDKG and the A7A5 ruble stablecoin, met all legal requirements when their permits were granted.

All the necessary documents and requirements established by our national legislation are held by these entities. Based on this, we issued permits, and they began listing these coins.

— Kairat MamatovChairman of the Financial Regulatory Service explaining why sanctioned entities still hold licenses.

Mamatov told 24.kg that the service has not received comprehensive information explaining the specific reasons for the foreign sanctions. "Regarding the sanctions, we do not have detailed information on why they imposed sanctions specifically on our stablecoins and A7A5. This information has not been provided to us," he stated.

Regarding the sanctions, we do not have detailed information on why they imposed sanctions specifically on our stablecoins and A7A5. This information has not been provided to us.

— Kairat MamatovChairman of the Financial Regulatory Service on the lack of information about the reasons for foreign sanctions.

Despite the international restrictions, the issued permits remain valid. Mamatov emphasized that the national legislation provides no grounds for suspending these licenses. The regulator's stance highlights a potential disconnect between international sanctions and domestic regulatory frameworks, allowing sanctioned entities to continue operations within Kyrgyzstan as long as they adhere to local laws.

We have no grounds at the national legislative level to suspend them.

— Kairat MamatovChairman of the Financial Regulatory Service explaining the continued validity of licenses despite sanctions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by 24.kg in Russian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog