Kazakhstan's Financial Monitoring Agency (AFM) conducted a sweeping regulatory crackdown throughout 2025, blocking access to more than 1,100 unlicensed cryptocurrency trading websites. The agency's head, Zhanat Elimanov, presented a full report on the operation to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, detailing a year-long effort to curb illegal financial activities in the digital asset space.
The crackdown targeted platforms operating outside the legal framework of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), which is the only authorized hub for licensed crypto exchanges in the country. "We prevented unauthorized services from operating and protected the financial system," Elimanov stated. The AFM's actions were part of a broader national policy to expand legal crypto trading and investment while aggressively preventing crimes linked to unregistered platforms.
Concurrently, authorities launched 1,135 criminal investigations tied to illegal exchanges and digital asset abuse. These probes led to the dismantling of 15 criminal organizations and 29 illegal financial service providers. A major outcome was the return of 141.5 billion tenge (approximately $277 million) to victims of financial fraud. Law enforcement also froze 20,000 bank accounts used by money mules connected to these illicit networks.
Payment institutions assisted in tracking over 2.1 trillion tenge (more than $4 billion) in suspicious money flows. Specific enforcement highlights from 2025 included the seizure of $10 million in digital coins from a cross-border crypto pyramid scheme and the shutdown of a major dark web money laundering exchange known as RAKS. In October alone, authorities shut down 130 more unauthorized exchanges, seizing nearly $17 million in crypto assets from their operators.
While crypto payments for general goods and services remain banned, Kazakhstan is piloting regulated systems like 'CryptoCity' and moving to legalize digital asset investments. The crackdown signifies the country's alignment with international standards for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, aiming to strengthen financial stability and promote a controlled digital finance environment.
