US Warns Kazakhstan Of Possible Secondary Sanctions For Helping Russia - Finance Ministry

US Warns Kazakhstan of Possible Secondary Sanctions for Helping Russia - Finance Ministry

ASTANA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2023) The United States has warned Kazakhstan of the growing risks of imposing secondary sanctions against the country's companies and banks for helping Russia evade Western trade and financial sanctions, US Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg said Tuesday.

"The additional trade (between Kazakhstan and Russia) that we see ... elevates the risk in Kazakhstan to Kazakh companies and to Kazakh banks ... We offer our partnership to counterparts in Kazakhstan, the government and the private sector to clarify the risks here and the consequences of participating in evasion of our measures," Rosenberg told reporters in Astana.

The West suspects Kazakh companies of re-exporting to Russia certain goods that can be used for military purposes, such as semiconductors and microchips.

After the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the West, including the EU and the US, rolled out a massive sanctions campaign against Moscow. To date, the bloc has already adopted 10 sanctions packages. The latest package was introduced on February 25 and expanded export, import, and personal restrictions, among others.