Kazakhstan’s financial regulators have targeted at least five online exchanges that trade cryptocurrencies illegally. Wallets containing cryptocurrencies, computers, and documents have all been found during searches in the country’s north.
Financial watchdog in Kazakhstan targets unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange services
An organization engaged in the illicit trade of cryptocurrencies has been dismantled by the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Through a number of websites, including kzobmen.com, 1wm.kz, kazobmen.ru, wm007.kz, and kz-exchange.com, its members managed the trade.
Six places were searched as part of the operation in the Kostanay region, and items incriminating the platform operators were recovered, the watchdog stated in a press release. Many laptops, cell phones, flash memory sticks, and accounting and banking documents were seized by the company’s staff.
Without providing an exact figure, the government claimed that the online exchangers’ organizers had profited “particularly significantly” from their commercial venture. Additionally, neither the number nor the identity of the group’s members were disclosed.
They were found to have two cryptocurrency wallets at Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with a combined balance of $6,000 in virtual currency. The FMA reported that access to these wallets has been temporarily blocked. Coins worth more than $200,000 were discovered in wallets from other exchanges.
The notification states that a pre-trial investigation is ongoing. The Financial Monitoring Agency further emphasized that only the unique legal framework of the Astana International Financial Center permits these kinds of activity (AIFC).
Since Kazakhstan became a hub for bitcoin mining after China’s crackdown on the sector in 2021, the Central Asian country has been taking moves to control its burgeoning cryptocurrency business.
Crypto firms must acquire regulatory license and register with Kazakhstan’s financial hub in order to legally operate an exchange platform. Binance received a license to offer custody and exchange services for cryptocurrencies in October 2022. It had earlier that month consented to alert Nur-authorities Sultan’s about crimes using cryptocurrency.