The Central Bank punishes 9 banks

The Central Bank has imposed fines on nine banks for violations of regulations on combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This was reported by the press service of the Central Bank.

It was noted that 51 issues were reviewed and relevant decisions were made by the Bank Control Committee of the Central Bank at its nine meetings held in August this year.

In the field of registration and licensing, 32 issues were considered. These included the registration of amendments to the charters of credit organizations (9), the registration of newly opened microfinance organizations (8), granting permission to acquire shares in the authorized capital of credit organizations (3), deregistration of a microfinance organization (2), and the issuance of an audit qualification certificate granting the right to conduct audits in banks (1). In addition, candidates for the supervisory board, the management of commercial banks, and key employees (9) were also reviewed.

At the same time, 19 issues related to the financial condition of credit organizations were discussed. These covered compliance with the Central Bank’s regulations and prudential standards, the results of inspections conducted in commercial banks and microfinance organizations, as well as matters related to combating the legalization of criminal proceeds, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Fourteen banks and two payment organizations were issued warnings regarding the application of measures and sanctions for non-compliance with prudential regulatory requirements, failure to implement regional plans and schedules for recovering problem loans and reducing their balances, and deficiencies identified during inspections.

Furthermore, fines were imposed on nine banks, six microfinance organizations, and four pawnshops for violations identified during inspections and for non-compliance with Central Bank requirements, including regulations on combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In addition, the license of one bank was revoked due to its failure to meet legislative requirements for the formation of minimum authorized capital.

It is worth noting that earlier, the Central Bank had warned credit organizations that it considers the withdrawal of state-issued social allowances from citizens, for the purpose of settling loan debts, to be an unfair and dishonest practice.