Kazakhstan tightens controls over trade with Russia

ALMATY (Reuters) – Kazakhstan said on Monday it would require exporters to file additional documents when sending goods to Russia, following reports that Russian companies have been using local intermediaries to bust Western sanctions.

Russia is Kazakhstan’s main trading partner and after the West barred sales of thousands of goods to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, some Kazakh businesses started purchasing such items and reselling them to Russian firms.

The Astana government, however, has pledged to uphold the sanctions, and said on Monday that the new rules, effective from April 1 and applying to exports within the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, would reduce “underground” trade.

“(The procedure) rules out the filing of documents by figureheads, fake senders or recipients,” it said in a statement.

Kazakh exports to Russia jumped by a quarter last year, and Kazakh businessmen say a move by Turkey to crack down on Russian “parallel imports” had prompted a fresh wave of requests from Russians seeking goods they cannot purchase directly.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones)