It is now possible to obtain an IIN, open an account and get a Kazakh bank card remotely, without entering the country. These are the very services being advertised by Russian bloggers. The only question is – how legal are such operations?
As Talgat Kaliyev, director of the Institute of Applied Ethnopolitical Research, reports on his channel, a number of Russian bloggers are advertising a service for the remote registration of Kazakh bank cards.
"During the correspondence, it turns out that for 21,000 rubles, in just one week, without visiting Kazakhstan, you can obtain a lifetime IIN using a copy of your passport and open a Freedom Bank card. And, according to the advertising message, the company opens a thousand cards a month, and over the years has issued tens of thousands," the author explains.
Talgat Kaliyev notes that it is impossible to open a bank card without having an established network of connections with bank employees and staff at Public Service Centres who issue IINs without the person being present. This means, the author suggests, that we are talking about a criminal organisation that should be dealt with by law enforcement agencies.
"In essence, by opening Kazakh cards for any Russian who wants one, Freedom is jeopardising the entire banking sector and the entire economy of Kazakhstan, because all of this has the hallmarks of assisting in the circumvention of sanctions, which could ultimately be extended to our country as well," Kaliyev believes.
In his opinion, the Ministry of Digitalisation, together with law enforcement agencies, should initiate a review of the cases of remote IIN assignment and annul them, while the National Bank should audit the activities of Freedom Bank and close all accounts opened in circumvention of the established rules.