Uzbekistan banks seek new operator for Zolotaya Korona transfers after sanctions

Uzbek banks are working with the Zolotaya Korona international money transfer service to switch to a new technical operator following European Union sanctions imposed on the service's correspondent bank, a senior official at the Central Bank of Uzbekistan said.

Otabek Tozhidinov, head of the Central Bank's Department of Foreign Exchange Regulation and Supervision, said the sanctions do not target Zolotaya Korona itself but rather the correspondent bank that processed some of its transactions, Caliber.Az reports per Uzbek media.

"Uzbekistan does not intend to be affected by the secondary impact of these sanctions," Tozhidinov said. "In consultation with the management of Zolotaya Korona, our banks are negotiating a transition to another operator that is not subject to sanctions."

According to Tozhidinov, representatives of Zolotaya Korona are currently in Tashkent to finalise the arrangements. The transition to the new operator is expected to be completed as early as next week, allowing the money transfer service to continue operating without disruption.

The Central Bank said it is closely monitoring the situation and sought to reassure customers that money transfers remain unaffected. Tozhidinov noted that Zolotaya Korona maintains a security deposit with local banks, enabling transfers to be processed normally and made available to recipients in any currency.

By Sabina Mammadli