Another crypto exchange was shut down in Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz - Another crypto exchange was shut down in Kazakhstan. The Department of the Financial Monitoring Agency (AFM) for the North Kazakhstan region has completed an investigation into a criminal case involving three individuals who, without the proper license, conducted cryptocurrency transactions for various users.

"As a result of illegal exchange operations, the organizers of the scheme converted digital assets into national currency for a fee. The total turnover amounted to more than 681 million tenge. It was established that 380 people made transactions with the defendants involving cryptocurrency, as confirmed by bank statements," the statement reads.

The court has sentenced three individuals to prison terms ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 years with property confiscation. Property worth about 400 million tenge has been confiscated, including assets worth around 10 million tenge, real estate valued at 150 million tenge, five cars totaling 213 million tenge, a quad bike worth 12 million tenge, and expensive computer equipment.

The AFM reminded that illegal crypto exchanges do not identify their clients and fail to detect suspicious transactions. This is why their services are often used by criminals, primarily cyber fraudsters and drug dealers. For example, in 2024, such schemes were used to launder drug money totaling 10 billion tenge.