Kazakh International Safe Haven May Help Russia Sidestep Western Sanctions

An international finance center to be built in the Kazakh capital of Astana could help Russian companies sidestep Western economic sanctions, the deputy governor of Kazakhstan’s central bank said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Beginning in 2018, a financial hub in the Central Asian republic will be quartered in a compound constructed for the EXPO-2017 exhibition. The plan to create a Kazakh-based safe haven was rolled out in May by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in an effort to attract investment.

Speaking with Russia’s Izvestia daily, Kazakhstan National Bank deputy governor Nurlan Kussainov said the Astana Financial Center could act as a business hub for Russian companies which want to do business with foreign investors.

"We’re speaking primarily of a stock market platform that will make it easier for Russian companies to attract investment," Kussainov said. "And if Russian nationals register [their firms] here they will not be regarded as Russian companies and therefore not subject to sanctions."

Under the May 19 presidential decree, the Astana Center will have a court for legal disputes using English law and engaging foreign judges to safeguard impartiality.

According to the central bank’s deputy governor, investors willing to move into the new financial center will be given free office space, a five-year visa-free entry and a 50-year tax holiday.

The West has imposed several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the Ukrainian armed conflict. The Kremlin has denied the accusations and, in August 2014, limited the import of food products from those countries that imposed restrictions.