Azerbaijan Blocks Western Union, MoneyGram Transfers
August 01, 2008
Azerbaijan's central bank says it has
suspended the activities of money transfer companies Western Union and MoneyGram because they operate in the breakaway region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a statement, the bank said "Transfers and reception of money under these systems have been completely suspended in all banks of Azerbaijan."
Azerbaijan looks unfavorably on companies that operate in Karabakh (so nothing that new here), but this doesn't seem like it'll be a popular move. Thousands of Azerbaijanis working abroad rely on money-transfer companies to support their families back home.
-- Wade German/Luke Allnutt