Special units of Kazakhstan’s AFM identified 18 crimes related to illegal cryptocurrency operations and mining, with a total turnover exceeding 36 billion tenge ($75.4 million).
In 2024, six convictions were handed down for illegal trading of digital assets. During the pre-trial investigation of these cases, assets worth a total of 1.2 billion tenge ($2.51 million) were seized.
Four individuals received prison sentences ranging from two to three and a half years. Two others were sentenced to restricted freedom.
In April, the court reviewed the case of a Russian citizen who engaged in illegal cryptocurrency exchange in Kazakhstan from 2020 to 2022. He was sentenced to two years in prison with confiscation of illegally obtained assets worth 58 million tenge (over $121,600) and criminal proceeds amounting to 5.8 billion tenge ($12.1 million). The verdict has come into force.
The circulation of cryptocurrencies and the activities of crypto exchanges in Kazakhstan are permitted exclusively within the jurisdiction of the AIFC with a license, and mining is subject to mandatory licensing.
Earlier, ForkLog reported that the authorities of Kazakhstan recovered assets worth $500,000 from the bitcoin pyramid scheme Eolus.