Russia to help Kazakhstan fight corruption and budget theft: lawmakers approve new law

Tengrinews.kz – The Majilis deputies have approved a law to create an international center aimed at assessing risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

The center will serve as an information exchange system between the CIS countries, according to Zhenis Elemessov, Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM).

The agreement to establish the center was signed by the heads of CIS countries in October 2023. The center’s main tasks include analyzing transnational criminal groups, tracking the movement and placement of funds, and exchanging information on fraud, budget theft, tax crimes, and corruption.

"The system will only collect information from open sources, and the exchange of sensitive or restricted data will not be included," said Elemessov.

Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have already ratified the agreement.

How the system will work

The AFM explained that the system will function on a standard principle: each country will send requests and receive responses. The center will receive analytical and aggregated data on cross-border risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

"The center will consolidate only the open information received from the participating countries about current risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing," Elemessov explained.

State secrets, banking confidentiality, or personal data will not be transferred to the system.

"As for state secrets, banking confidentiality, or personal data, such information will not be transferred to the center. Responsibility for this will be governed by the national legislation of the respective countries," he added.

Who will operate the system

The hardware and software complex will be provided by the Russian Federation, making it the operator of the system. However, AFM emphasized that decisions and oversight of activities will be handled by a joint Council, comprising representatives from all participating countries.

"All participating countries will have equal access, and no requests will be required to obtain this information. The operator only performs a technical function to ensure the system’s smooth operation," the AFM clarified.

Deputy Erlan Sairov noted that Kazakhstan recorded 965 million cyberattacks in the first quarter of 2025. He pointed out that these attacks are likely funded by criminal proceeds, which the new center aims to track. Sairov asked how the new agreement would help fight such threats.

Elemessov responded that the center will "highlight" such situations:

"If the international center sees that cross-border transit transactions have certain risks, this center is created to analyze those operations, and its task is to 'highlight' those risks to each country," he explained.