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Kazakhstan Reports 2025 Crypto Crackdown That Disabled 1,100+ Unlicensed Platforms

The AFM says the drive protected the financial system by pushing trading into licensed channels.

Overview

  • Authorities say they took more than 1,100 illegal crypto trading sites offline in 2025 under enforcement centered on the AIFC framework.
  • Investigators opened 1,135 criminal cases and returned 141.5 billion tenge (about $277 million) to victims of financial fraud.
  • Officials report dismantling 15 criminal organizations, freezing roughly 20,000 money‑mule bank accounts, and tracing 2.1 trillion tenge in suspicious flows with help from payment institutions.
  • Targeted actions included shutting the dark‑web RAKS laundering exchange, seizing $10 million from a cross‑border pyramid scheme, and later confiscating nearly $17 million from additional illicit platforms.
  • Policy keeps general crypto payments banned as activity is directed to licensed venues and tightly controlled pilots such as CryptoCity proceed.