The work of exchange offices in Kazakhstan is suspended for security reasons. This was announced on January 9 by the national bank of the country.
“The activity of exchange offices of second-tier banks and authorized organizations <...> is temporarily suspended for the safety and security of exchange offices, as well as their employees and customers,” the message says.
The National Bank added that as the situation in Alma-Ata and other regions stabilizes, as well as the restoration of communication channels, measures will be taken to resume trading on the currency platform of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and conduct international payments and transfers.
Earlier that day, it became known that the services of the Sberbank mobile application in Kazakhstan are resuming their work. They will function without internet access.
On January 6, massive queues formed at the only working bank in Nur-Sultan. Residents tried to withdraw money from cards, since the Internet was temporarily absent in the republic.
Protests in Kazakhstan began on January 2. Participants of the rallies opposed the rise in prices for liquefied gas. The actions soon escalated into riots.
The situation has become especially aggravated in the largest city of the country – Alma-Ata. The protesters broke into the administration building, set fire to the building of the prosecutor’s office and the office of the ruling party.
In addition, radical protesters armed themselves and began looting, destroying shops, pharmacies and banks in the city. The criminals ransacked the offices of five TV channels, tried to attack a pre-trial detention center in the city of Taldykorgan and attempted to enter the territory of a military unit in the Aktobe region.
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, noted that the seized government offices were terrorist groups. He added that the bandits who caused the riots had received extensive training abroad.
The commandant’s office in Alma-Ata also said that the violent actions of the attackers testified to the terrorist and extremist nature of the bandit formations.
A resident of Nur-Sultan called the events in Alma-Ata looting and massacre, not a peaceful protest.
The presidential administration of the country noted that among the militants operating in Alma-Ata there were snipers with special rifles.
On January 5, the President of Kazakhstan announced that he had applied to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia) for help in overcoming the terrorist threat. After that, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who holds the post of CSTO chairman, said that the organization would send collective peacekeeping forces to the republic for a limited period of time to stabilize the situation.
On January 9, the CSTO collective peacekeeping forces completed their deployment in Kazakhstan and began to perform their tasks. In particular, peacekeepers guard military, state and socially significant facilities in Almaty and neighboring regions.
Il-76 and An-124 planes with Russian peacekeepers and equipment arrived in the republic. In addition, Belarusian peacekeepers arrived in Kazakhstan. Also, peacekeepers from Kyrgyzstan and Armenia were delivered to the republic.
The CSTO peacekeepers help Kazakhstani law enforcement officers ensure the safety of life support facilities, social infrastructure, and airports.
#National #Bank #Kazakhstan #ordered #suspend #work #exchange #offices