As of the end of 2025, Kazakhstan registered 140 cases of money laundering, which is 84% more compared to 2024. This is a record number of cases under Article 218 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan over the past decade, including 130 serious crimes, accounting for 93% of the total.
Who is behind money laundering in Kazakhstan?
Experts from the First Credit Bureau noted that investigative actions have been completed in 98 money laundering cases, 93 of which have been sent to court. 15 cases were closed due to insufficient evidence. In total, in 2025, there were 172 cases under Article 218 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, of which 121 were completed, and 116 were sent to court. 42 individuals were recognized as suspects in criminal cases, half of whom have higher education, and seven are women. The majority of the suspects, 29 individuals, were over 30 years old at the time of committing the crime.
Among the suspects, eight were private entrepreneurs, two were civil servants, and one was a worker. 24 individuals were unemployed at the time of committing the crime. According to the Credit Bureau, in 2025, 15 people were convicted under Article 218 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including five women. Seven of them received actual prison sentences, while five were given restrictions on freedom.
In other cases, fines of 7.9 million tenge, suspended sentences, and deferrals of punishment were applied. The increase in the number of identified money laundering cases may be related to the disclosure of schemes for shadow cryptocurrency trading, which was reported by the Financial Monitoring Agency last year, mentioning the liquidation of 130 "black" cryptocurrency exchanges.
