Kazakhstan Officials Say They’ve Blocked Illegal Crypto Transactions Worth $75.4 Million

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Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

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Last updated:

August 8, 2024 07:30 EDT

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Kazakhstan’s anti-money laundering agency says officials in the country have blocked illegal crypto transactions worth a total of $75.4 million.

In a Telegram post from the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Financial Monitoring (AFM), the agency said it had “identified 18 crimes related to illegal cryptocurrency transactions and mining.”

Kazakhstan Crypto Crackdown?

The agency added that in 2024, courts in the country handed out six sentences related to the “illegal purchase and sale” of cryptoassets.

Investigators in these cases have seized assets worth a total of $2.51 million. Courts jailed four offenders for up to three and a half years.

The AFM noted that in April this year, a court jailed a Russian citizen for two years. The man was found guilty of operating an illegal crypto exchange in Kazakhstan.

The agency said the man ran the exchange from 2020 to 2022. And it said it had confiscated “criminally obtained property” worth over $121,600.

Investigators also froze “criminal proceeds” worth $12.1 million from the man’s crypto exchange.

Crypto exchanges in Kazakhstan must obtain official operating permits. They must also operate from the Astana International Financial Center.

Crypto mining, meanwhile, is also heavily regulated. Miners can only connect their rigs to the grid if they complete licensing protocols. The AFM wrote:

“Digital technologies and widespread informatization are driving an increase in crime. [Criminals now] use modern devices, information systems, and telecommunication networks.”

The agency said that “to identify and fight crimes” in the IT sector, it has “created special units.” These units appear to have blockchain network monitoring capabilities.

Agency Targets Crypto ‘Pyramid Scheme’

The AFM added that it had also identified three cases of “state funds theft.” It said these funds had been “allocated for the maintenance of information systems, the creation of cloud accounting, and the digitization of complaints.”

Kazakhstan has prepared plan to compensate for oil overproduction https://t.co/6lKwUEIRLA pic.twitter.com/k1Q9WCOgMb

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 8, 2024

On August 2, the AFM said it had recovered over half a million USD worth of assets from a crypto-themed “pyramid scheme” named Eolus.

The agency said the money was “stolen” from some 2,500 citizens from “all over the country.”