Nurdoolot Nurgozhoyev, youngest son of Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, and Marat Sultanov, a former speaker of parliament, have become the founders of a newly established digital bank, Bereket Bank, Azattyk reported on October 31.

Subsequently, on November 2, in an interview with official state news agency Kabar, Japarov commented on the involvement of his son in the bank.

Japarov said the proposal to open the digital bank was made by co-founder and owner of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ”.

Japarov was further reported as saying: "I invited Marat Sultanov as a former banker and entrusted him with the organisational work [for the bank]. He asked to include Changpeng Zhao and Marat Abdrazakovich Nurdoolot. After thinking and thinking, I gave permission, saying that because the state has nothing to do with this, it is okay. I told them [Sultanov and Nurdoolot] that they need to get involved and gain experience. Isn't it better for them to be busy with their personal affairs rather than getting involved in state affairs?"

Japarov said Bereket would work primarily with virtual assets and digital currencies.

He was also reported as saying that his relatives and close friends do not get involved in politics and that he has been advising his children to work on attracting investors to Kyrgyzstan.

Japarov said his children, Rustam and Nurdoolot, are studying economics and finance.

Zhao was appointed as a public advisor to Japarov in the summer.

On October 25, Kyrgyzstan unveiled a national stablecoin and a central bank digital currency in partnership with Binance.

US President Donald Trump on October 24 pardoned Zhao over a conviction for money laundering-related offences.

Kyrgyzstan is under Western sanctions in relation to the A7A5 cryptocurrency token and Grinex exchange that appear to have been used to shift billions of dollars into Russia.