Illegal crypto exchange with a turnover of $33,2 million was shut down in Astana

The platform’s founders were sentenced to 3 and 2,5 years in prison

17.01.2024 - 11:10

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What’s new? The Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) of the Republic of Kazakhstan has completed an investigation into a cryptocurrency exchanger operating in Astana with a turnover of 15 billion tenge (~$33,2 million). The court sentenced the founders of the platform Kuchukov and Sadyrov to 3 and 2,5 years in prison.

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What else is known? “Unsecured digital assets in the amount of 22 894,5 USDT on the balance of the crypto wallet, cash in the amount of $328 000, and almost 7 million tenge were confiscated to the income of the state,” the AFM reported.

Kuchukov and Sadyrov founded an illegal service to exchange cryptocurrencies for cash. They charged from 1,5% to 2,5% commission for their services. The AFM reminded that it is prohibited to carry out exchange operations without a legal entity and license in Kazakhstan.

In January, Kazakhstan closed five illegal crypto exchanges that operated outside the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), which is prohibited by local law.

In November 2023, the Ministry of Information and Social Development of Kazakhstan blocked the website of Coinbase exchange for violating the legislation on digital assets. The reason was the platform’s lack of an AIFC license.

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