The company Catu Tech Ltd., registered in Astana, has been added to the sanctions list of the US Department of the Treasury.
According to ORDA, this is due to regular shipments of electronic equipment to Russia.
"Catu Tech appears in the latest edition of the sanctions list dated 23 August. It is the only new Kazakh company to be hit by US Treasury restrictions (the other legal entities on the list are registered in Russia, China, the UAE and Turkey)", the statement said.
Meanwhile, the US State Department noted that over the course of a year, the company sent more than 30 shipments of chips and other components to Russian counterparties, which could also be used in the military industry.
It is reported that Catu Tech Ltd. was founded by a certain Valentin Stolyarov, and the organisation is currently headed by Altyngul Zhumataeva.
It has emerged that the company specialises in the wholesale trade of computers, computer equipment and software.
It is noted that after the start of shipments to Russia in 2023, Catu Tech's tax contributions grew 2.5 times. Since 2022, the company has paid approximately 10 million tenge in taxes.
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian financial institution Asia-Pacific Bank (ATB), owned by former president Nazarbayev, could be added to the US sanctions list.
Furthermore, in July at the "EXPO-EURASIA KAZAKHSTAN 2024" business forum, which was attended by companies from Russia, as well as guests from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, international logistics expert Nikolai Serebryakov described how Russian businesses circumvent sanctions. According to him, so-called payment agents from Central Asia are used for this purpose.
In February 2024, the European Union published another package of sanctions against Russia and companies from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Iran, Turkey and other countries.
The sanctions lists also included the Kazakh LLP "Elem Group". It was suspected of "supporting the Russian military-industrial complex" and "participating in the circumvention of trade restrictions".
Shortly before the publication, the Ministry of Trade reported that the company has not been engaged in import or export activities since last year and is in the process of being liquidated.