Azerbaijan, Baku, June 8 / Trend N.Ismayilova /
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) has instructed commercial banks to suspend business relations with the MIGOM money transfer system, Azerbaijani banks told Trend.
The CBA notified banks in Azerbaijan not to engage in money transactions using the MIGOM system as of June 8.
The system was suspended due to illegal operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is occupied by Armenia, the banks reported.
MIGOM earlier received warnings against performing such operations. After briefly suspending their activities in the region, however, the CBA decision indicates that MIGOM recommenced money transfers to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Similar warnings were provided to Western Union and MoneyGram. The banks suspended their operations July 30, 2008 and resumed their activities Aug. 14, 2008.
The CBA revealed violations of the Azerbaijani national interests by these systems during monitoring on providing financial intermediaries in the country's national legal framework. As a result, it was revealed that several money transfer systems have conducted operations in the territories occupied by Armenia. Among them - "Contact", "Western Union", "Zalotaya Karona - Denejnie perevodi", "Moneygram", "Migom", "Privat Money" and "Leader".
The official websites of these systems presented Azerbaijan's territory as distorted. On the other hand, the CBA identified violations of law, as they collaborated with structures without a license from the CBA. The CBA took appropriate measure with regard to the violators. As a result, many payment systems stopped illegal activity.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at: [email protected]