Kazakhstan Resident Illegally Exchanged Cryptocurrencies Worth $11.3 Million

The AFM of Kazakhstan has concluded an investigation into the illegal circulation of digital assets.

According to the agency, in September 2020, a then-underage resident of Almaty posted advertisements for cryptocurrency exchange services on the Telegram messenger and the OLX platform.

To conduct transactions, he asked his older brother to register on the Binance exchange. Subsequently, the individual created three more accounts in the names of his relatives to minimize the risk of being blocked.

From 2021 to 2024, addresses associated with him processed transactions totaling 5.6 billion tenge ($11.3 million). The fee for the exchange services ranged from 0.5% to 2.5%.

The court found the individual guilty of illegal entrepreneurship and sentenced him to 2.5 years of restricted freedom.

The state confiscated 5172 USDT and a Mitsubishi car, purchased with illegally earned funds.

In 2024, the AFM dismantled 36 illegal crypto exchanges with a total turnover of 60 billion tenge ($121.9 million). The amount of frozen and confiscated assets amounted to 4.8 million USDT (about 2.5 billion tenge).

Earlier in January, Kazakh authorities shut down an illegal bitcoin exchange with a turnover of over 681 million tenge ($1.28 million).