Two residents of the Kostanay region ran an illegal microfinance operation without a license and legalized proceeds obtained through criminal means. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to investigation data, in 2024–2025 they organized the work of four companies under their control — "Soyuz-Kostanay", "Express Tenge", "Express Gold" and "Express.com". The network operated mainly in the region's district centers and villages.
Clients were offered money in exchange for pledging their jewelry, without turning to banks or other financial organizations.
"In effect, under the pretext of commission trade, citizens were given money in exchange for pledging their property. A daily fee of 0.4 percent was charged for the use of the money provided. However, no written loan agreements were concluded with clients," the Financial Monitoring Agency said.
To present the transactions as legitimate commission activity, a number of formal documents were drawn up, in which the fee was described as a commission for deferring the sale of goods or a payment for storing them. Over two years, more than 1,600 citizens used their services.
Income from the illegal activity exceeded 579 million tenge. The court sentenced both to 2 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The confiscated property includes five apartments, three cars and two land plots.