The Financial Monitoring Agency has reported the closure of 130 illegal platforms that were used to launder proceeds from online fraud and drug trafficking.
According to the agency's press office, financial investigations led to the seizure of 16.7 million USDT (approximately 7.9 billion tenge).
The agency explained that the scheme operated as follows: owners of "drug shops" and cyber fraudsters transferred money — in tenge, dollars, or cryptocurrency — to accounts and wallets linked to illegal exchange offices.
The funds were then passed through a series of transactions, which made it possible to conceal the origin of the assets. Participants received a fee for these services.
Bank cards and electronic wallets of straw men (money mules) were often used for the transactions. In this way, the illegal exchange services effectively acted as professional money launderers, providing cash-out services and transferring funds abroad.
"The Financial Monitoring Agency draws citizens' attention to the need for a responsible approach when choosing services for the exchange of digital assets. It is recommended to use exclusively the services of licensed and officially registered providers whose activities are regulated within the framework of current legislation," the statement said.
A list of official and licensed cryptocurrency exchanges can be found on the website of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).
It will be recalled that in January last year, cryptocurrency cash-out operators were convicted in Astana. The suspects carried out the illegal exchange of cryptocurrency for cash, making a particularly large profit. The turnover from their activities amounted to 15 billion tenge.
Later, in the capital, two individuals were convicted of illegal operations with cryptocurrency. The criminals' cash turnover exceeded 7 billion tenge.
In January of this year, in the North Kazakhstan Region, three individuals were convicted of accepting and exchanging cryptocurrency without a licence. The cash turnover exceeded 681 million tenge.