Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) published a report on 9 May 2023 explaining the involvement of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the circumvention of EU sanctions against Russia, which were imposed in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. On 3 July 2023, a further report on sanctions circumvention was submitted to the European Parliament and the European Commission. In both reports, the Kyrgyz bank Bakai Bank was mentioned and it was recommended that the bank be considered for inclusion in the EU’s restrictive measures list for supporting Russia in circumventing sanctions. Within its limited resources, ODF provided as much evidence as possible so that the competent EU institutions could further work on this matter and take informed decisions.
Bakai Bank initiated proceedings against ODF, requesting the court to order ODF to stop any publication criticising Bakai Bank in this context and to condemn ODF to pay EUR 1 050 000 in damages.
The court did not grant these requests. However, it concluded that ODF should have elaborated its analysis in a more detailed way (in essence, by carrying out an “audit” of the bank) and ordered that the judgment be published on ODF’s website.
ODF strongly disagrees with this judgment. The role of ODF is to bring relevant situations to the attention of the competent authorities. Neither ODF, nor any NGO, can investigate with the same depth and access to information as the decision‑making institutions can and must do. ODF conducted a diligent inquiry, sufficiently elaborated to formulate a recommendation. Any further inquiry would have required the cooperation of the bank. When asked to provide information, the bank did not substantively respond. The effort made by ODF to contribute to establishing the truth was multiple times more significant than the effort made by Bakai Bank to clarify its position and actions. The judgment creates a chilling effect on NGO reporting and would, in practice, make the publication of any report critical of a commercial company impossible. Deciding in such a way deprives freedom of expression under Article 10 ECHR of its societal impact. ODF will lodge an appeal against the judgment.
Finally, ODF wishes to draw attention to its report of 4 March 2025, which confirms and further substantiates the earlier findings.
Read also:
- The Price of Exposing Sanctions Violations: Bakai Bank’s Legal Attack on the Open Dialogue Foundation (4 March 2025)
- Submission to the European Parliament and European Commission on the issue of sanctions circumvention (3 July 2023)
- Russia’s Accomplices in the War Against Ukraine: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Army’s Reliable Rear (9 May 2023)
