Money Transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan Drop Significantly

The amount of money transferred from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2024 has fallen by more than 40%, Orda.kz reports, citing RBK.

Russian journalists report that 61.8 billion tenge was transferred from Russia to Kazakhstan last year through banks and international money transfer systems (such as Zolotaya Korona, Unistream, and Contact).

This marks a 43% decrease in tenge terms and a 44% drop in dollar terms. Despite the decline, Russia remains the top source of money transfers to Kazakhstan.

Similar declines were seen in transfers from Russia to Georgia and Armenia, while money flows to Kyrgyzstan actually increased by 12%.

This trend can be explained by the fact that many Russian emigrants who left after the start of the war have already moved their money out of Russia.

Additionally, transferring funds from Russia to Kazakhstan has become more complex and less profitable, especially for businesses.

Many banks in friendly jurisdictions, including Kazakhstan, have tightened their regulations for banking transactions involving Russian individuals. As a result, transfers through previously accessible ways have become more complicated,  said Dmitry Chirkin, Managing Partner at White Stone, as quoted by RBK.

Over the past year, Kazakhstani banks have intensified their scrutiny of Russian transfers, fearing secondary sanctions.

They now require more documentation for such transactions.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, money transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan initially surged sevenfold in 2022. 

Original Author: Nikita Drobny