(14 January 2026 | Source: Telegram channel of the QAMS Association)
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has confirmed that the participation of the artificial intelligence Samruk-Kazyna Artificial Intelligence (SKAI) on the board of directors of the Samruk-Kazyna fund contradicts legal requirements.
This marks the first time the regulator has issued an official legal assessment of the government's decision, taken in October 2025, which had previously raised questions among investors and market participants.
HOW THE AI CAME TO BE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
In October 2025, the Samruk-Kazyna fund presented the Samruk-Kazyna Artificial Intelligence (SKAI) neural network to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Digital Bridge international forum in Astana. The project was positioned as the first example in the region of appointing a digital independent board member with voting rights.
The fund reported that SKAI analyses internal and external regulatory documents, board of directors' decisions dating back to 2008, and other data sets. The system operates in a closed environment on the Al Farabium supercomputer, owned by Kazakhtelecom, and is based on the Alem LLM Kazakh language model.
Samruk-Kazyna stated that the introduction of AI was aimed at improving the transparency and quality of corporate governance.
WHY INVESTORS HAD QUESTIONS
The unusual status of SKAI as a member of a governing body raised concerns for the QAMS Association of Minority Shareholders. In November 2025, the association stated that there was no official legal position from the state and pointed out that an independent director is an official whose decisions have legal consequences for the fund and its portfolio companies.
According to QAMS, the participation of an entity lacking civil legal status creates a risk that board decisions and transactions made with its involvement could later be challenged.
The association's appeal was forwarded by the Prime Minister's office to the Ministry of National Economy and the ARDFM; however, no public comments from the agencies followed at the time. The only clarifications came from the fund's managing director, who referred to a decision by the sole shareholder — the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
WHAT THE REGULATOR SAID
In its official response to QAMS, the ARDFM stated that, in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 54 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan 'On Joint-Stock Companies', only a natural person may be a member of the board of directors. This provision is mandatory and applies to all joint-stock companies, regardless of ownership structure or the level of state participation. The law provides no exceptions for the Samruk-Kazyna fund.
The regulator also noted that the Samruk-Kazyna Corporate Governance Code, approved by a government resolution, is a by-law and cannot override the requirements of the law. The current version of the code contains no provisions permitting the participation of artificial intelligence on the board of directors.
Furthermore, the ARDFM reminded that the status of an independent director entails professional judgement, personal and fiduciary responsibility, as well as compliance with independence criteria and the absence of conflicts of interest — characteristics applicable exclusively to natural persons.
POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES
The ARDFM pointed out the need to disclose the legal status of the artificial intelligence, the extent of its involvement in management decisions, and potential risks for investors. QAMS believes that insufficient disclosure undermines investor confidence and affects the assessment of the quality of corporate governance.
The association notes that the current situation creates risks that board of directors' decisions could be contested, corporate governance procedures could be violated, and the investment attractiveness of the fund and its subsidiaries, including in international capital markets, could decrease.