Russian national charged with creating an illegal Bitcoin exchange in Kazakhstan

The Kostanay court is examining the criminal case against the founder of kzobmen.com, a cryptocurrency exchange that provided services without a licence. Local media report.

According to the indictment, the service allowed individuals to buy and sell digital assets after providing personal data. It was not registered with the Astana International Financial Centre.

The proceeds from the illicit activity amounted to 3.9 billion tenge ($8.1 million) and more than $2,000.

The defendant is a 35-year-old Russian citizen with a residence permit in Kazakhstan. He is registered in the country as a sole proprietor. He did not admit his guilt in full.

The trial is ongoing.

Earlier in June in Almaty, authorities identified a cryptocurrency online exchange that had operated for several years without registration or a licence to provide services. The income from its activities amounted to at least about $210,000, with funds stored on Binance.