Kazakhstan Takes Proactive Action Against Financial Crimes
At the 39th Plenary Week of the Eurasian Group (EAG) in Sanya, China, the Kazakhstan delegation spearheaded a seminar on virtual assets. The event facilitated an exchange of experiences among participating countries, emphasizing the use of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Head of Kazakhstan’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Department, Ruslan Ostroumov, highlighted the country’s legislative regulations and measures in tackling illegal digital asset turnover. He reported that 980 illegal cryptocurrency exchange platforms have been blocked this year, with nine investigations into illegal exchange operations totaling $36.7 million.
The seminar’s participants and organizers commended Kazakhstan’s proactive stance against financial crimes in the realm of virtual assets.
Kazakhstan Crypto Laws Make Trading Difficult
Kazakhstan crypto laws make it increasingly difficult for exchanges to obtain registration. The country’s digital asset legislation, which took effect in February 2023, prohibits the issuance and trading of digital currencies, as well as cryptocurrency exchange businesses, without a license. As of now, Binance, Bybit, CaspianEx, Biteeu, ATAIX, Upbit, and Xignal & MT are the only exchanges with permission to conduct trade.
In September 2022, the first crypto regulation draft was pushed in Kazakhstan to regulate the virtual finance economy in the nation. Later, in December 2020 digital currency mining was formally legalized. On May 6th, 2021, the National Bank of Kazakhstan announced its plans to issue a “digital tenge”, their version of a CBDC. These regulatory steps and the issuance of CBDC point towards the increased adoption of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Kazakhstan is among the top four countries in terms of crypto production.
