ASTANA, June 29. /TASS/. Kazakhstan's Bereke Bank, a former subsidiary of Sberbank, has resumed foreign exchange transactions after the US sanctions against the bank were lifted, the press service of the financial organization said in a statement on Thursday.
"Payments, foreign exchange transactions and conversion operations with the US dollar both inside the country and to foreign financial institutions are available again to the bank’s clients, individuals and legal entities. Entrepreneurs have regained the options of foreign currency payments on exchange contracts and one of the most favorable terms of online conversion operations within the FX platform," the statement reads.
The resumption of transactions with the US dollar has become a logical step to restore the bank’s operations after the removal of sanctions, according to the statement. Bereke Bank has opened correspondent accounts in dollars both in second-tier Kazakh banks and in foreign correspondent banks. "Consequently, today Bereke Bank’s clients can conduct transactions in tenge, US dollars, Russian rubles and yuan. Resumption of transactions with the euro, as well as renewal of relations with international payment systems Visa and Mastercard, are in the bank’s pipeline," the press service noted.
Bereke Bank was removed from the US sanctions lists in March 2023, less than one year after the change of its owner.
The sale and purchase transaction between Sberbank and the Baiterek holding took place in early September 2022. The bank changed its name to Bereke Bank. In September, the new owner of the bank submitted documents to OFAC to lift the sanctions against the bank.