Crossroads Asia

Kazakhstani Banks Eye the Spoils of Sanctioned Russian Subsidiaries

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Crossroads Asia | Economy | Central Asia

Kazakhstani Banks Eye the Spoils of Sanctioned Russian Subsidiaries

Russian banks operating in Kazakhstan were thriving before the war. Now CenterCredit has bought Alfa-Bank’s assets in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstani Banks Eye the Spoils of Sanctioned Russian Subsidiaries
Credit: Depositphotos

As sanctions against Russian banks and companies intensify, their Moscow headquarters are looking to offload foreign assets. Last week, Kazakhstan’s Bank CenterCredit (BCC) bought Alfa-Bank Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of the Russian lender owned by Mikhail Fridman, who was named for individual sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

On April 6, the U.S. Treasury expanded sanctions against Sberbank and Alfa-Bank, severely limiting their ability to operate in dollars and to use international transfer networks, such as Visa and MasterCard. These banks’ subsidiaries in Kazakhstan directly and indirectly suffered a blow and their management looked to sell off some of the more problematic assets, or, as in the case of Alfa, their entire operation. 

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