The Department of the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) of the West Kazakhstan Region is investigating a case of illegal access to bank account management and the execution of unlawful transactions through them.
According to the agency's press service, the scheme's organisers recruited young citizens under the guise of temporary work, offering them to open bank accounts in their own name and install mobile internet banking applications on the perpetrators' devices. After installation, control of the accounts passed to the organisers.
The involved individuals — so-called "money mules" — received a reward of between 200 and 350 US dollars. Funds received from citizens who were victims of internet fraud were transferred through their accounts. The total volume of illegal transactions exceeded 17 million tenge.
In one incident, after a bank card was blocked, one of the participants refused to continue taking part in the illegal activity. According to the investigation, members of the group kidnapped him and, threatening violence, demanded he restore access to the account.
The scheme's organiser was named a suspect. The court selected a pre-trial measure of detention in custody for him.
The FMA reminded that from 16 September, Article 232-1 was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, establishing liability for money muling — the illegal provision, transfer, or acquisition of access to a bank account, payment instrument, or identification means. The maximum penalty under this article provides for up to seven years' imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Recall that in September, in the Atyrau Region, the FMA suppressed the activities of five criminal groups which, by drawing up fake documents, facilitated the withdrawal of pension savings from JSC "Unified Accumulative Pension Fund" (UAPF).
The scheme's organisers used more than 30 dental clinics, supposedly located in Atyrau, Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, Aktau and other regions of the country.
For preparing false medical documentation, the suspects kept between 10% and 20% of the withdrawn funds. To cash out the funds, the perpetrators used 226 "money mules". In total, they withdrew over 200 billion tenge.