One company each from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and two others from Uzbekistan have been added to the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list.  They are accused of providing machine tools and other dual-use equipment to Russia via China in violation of US rules barring trade that can support the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says they are accused of providing machine tools and other dual-use equipment to Russia via China in violation of US rules barring trade that can support the Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

Kazakhstan-based KAZSTANEX (secondary sanctions risk), Kyrgyzstan-based LLC Service Fly Bishkek  (second sanctions risk), as well as Uzbekistan-based OOO UZSTANEX  (secondary sanctions risk) and LLC The Elite Investment Group (secondary sanctions risk) have been added to the US sanction list.  These companies were among 275 businesses and individuals added to the sanctions list at the end of October.

Eurasianet says an Almaty-based Kazstanex and Tashkent-based Uztanex procured machine tools from Europe, then shipped them onward to Shanghai Winsun Co. in China.  From there, the products were reportedly sent to Russia to a company called Open Systems Development Technology.   

A Bishkek-based firm called LLC Service Fly Bishkek and a second Uzbek-firm, LLC The Elite Investment Group, were also added to the US sanctions list.

Central Asia has long been seen as a conduit used by Russia to evade sanctions.  Kazakhstan officially adheres to Western trade sanctions imposed on Russia. The authorities of Kazakhstan reportedly do not want the country’s territory to be used to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions.  Roman Vasilenko, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, reportedly stated this in an interview with Poland’s state-run news agency PAP.  "Kazakhstan has not imposed sanctions against Russia, and Kazakhstan has not joined the sanctions against Russia.  However, we do not want our territory to be used to bypass sanctions," Vasilenko emphasized.  He added that Astana's position is known to all interested parties, both in the West and in Russia.

However, numerous reports of sanctions-busting behavior by entities based in Kazakhstan, as well as elsewhere in Central Asia, have reportedly been documented.