ASTANA (TCA) — Since the beginning of the property and capital legalization campaign in Kazakhstan, property and money have been legalized for 1.5 trillion tenge or around US $4.4 billion according to the exchange rate on June 2, Finance Minister Bakhyt Sultanov said on June 2, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
“To date, the amount of applications for legalizing property and money has exceeded 1.7 trillion tenge, 1.5 trillion tenge of which has been legalized, including property in the territory of Kazakhstan in the amount of 666 billion tenge and property located outside the country amounting to 1.9 billion tenge. The amount of legalized money is 892 billion tenge,” the minister said.
The minister said that during the entire period, about 90 thousand Kazakhstan citizens have taken part in the legalization campaign.
He also said that amendments to the legalization rules have boosted the legalization.
The government earlier simplified the legalization procedure by cancellation of the requirement to keep legalized money on special bank accounts for five years and pay a 10-percent commission.
The legalization campaign in Kazakhstan started on 1 September 2014 and will last until the end of 2016.
It was earlier reported that the government of Kazakhstan expected to legalize more than $10 billion during this capital amnesty campaign.
Capital or property declared during the legalization campaign will not be taxed.
According to the capital legalization law, the amnesty applies to money, securities, stakes in authorized capitals of legal entities, and real estate beyond Kazakhstan. Property received as a result of corruption and other crimes will not be legalized.
In line with the capital amnesty law, legalized monies will be transferred to special accounts in second-tier banks in Kazakhstan.
It is the third capital amnesty campaign in Kazakhstan since the country gained independence in 1991. The first such campaign took place in 2001, when $480 million was legalized during one month. The second legalization campaign was carried out in 2006 and 2007, when the amnesty was applied to both capitals and property, and resulted in legalization of $6.8 billion.
