Armenia Bans Western Union Transfers Over Karabakh

By Hovannes Shoghikian

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) has banned the activities of the money transfer company Western Union following the latter’s decision to stop handling cash remittances to Nagorno-Karabakh taken under pressure from Azerbaijan.

The decision came just days after the Azerbaijani authorities ordered local commercial banks not to do business with Western Union and another world-famous company, MoneyGram, because they operate in Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s National Bank said on August 1 that any financial operations in “occupied Azerbaijani territories” are illegal.

In a statement on Monday, the CBA’s governing board condemned Western Union’s refusal to wire cash transfers to Karabakh through Armenian banks without a prior warning. It said the move “can harm the usual activity of the banks” and “influence the economic, financial and real sectors of the country’s economy.” [Read more]