A court verdict has been issued in Kostanay against a man who organized illegal microfinance activities. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to investigation materials, the city resident advertised his services via OLX and Instagram. He lent money against property collateral.
"Taking advantage of citizens' difficult financial situation and their inability to obtain loans from second-tier banks, he lent money at high interest rates, reaching up to 120% per annum. Moreover, in notarized contracts, the actual amount of debt was not indicated, but an inflated amount due to pre-calculated interest, processing costs, and other payments," the official statement said.
One of the victims borrowed 9 million tenge. Later, another loan of 18 million tenge was arranged. However, no money was given under this contract. The creditor, based on the contract, through a court decision, collected 26 million tenge from the victim.
Thus, more than 50 people received loans on unfavorable terms. The total amount of criminal income exceeded 1 billion tenge.
By the court verdict, the city resident was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison. Additionally, four apartments, two land plots, and Mercedes-Benz G500, Dodge RAM 1500, and Hyundai Santa Fe cars purchased with illegal money were confiscated to the state.
The verdict has not entered into legal force.