Kazakhstan Justice - The Times Of Central Asia

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Fraud

Kazakhstan Blocked Nearly 85 Million Fraudulent Phone Calls in 2025

Kazakhstan’s law enforcement agencies blocked approximately 85 million fraudulent phone calls in 2025, according to Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov. The announcement was made during a meeting of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “Systematic work continues to combat cybercrime and internet fraud,” Sadenov stated. “A total of 84.5 million fraudulent calls were blocked, helping to prevent significant financial losses and reduce citizen exposure to fraudulent schemes. Thirteen call centers were shut down, including some located abroad. Fifty-six criminal cases have been launched against individuals involved in so-called ‘dropperism,’ aiding internet fraudsters.” Sadenov also highlighted Kazakhstan’s signing of the United Nations Convention on Combating Cybercrime, which he said will strengthen international cooperation in addressing cross-border digital crimes. As part of its broader digital transformation, Kazakhstan introduced the Law and Order service last autumn, a new tool enabling citizens to interact with law enforcement agencies. Integrated into eGov Mobile, the government’s digital services platform, as well as the Kaspi.kz and Halyk Bank mobile apps, the service is accessible nationwide. In addition to reporting offenses, users can submit complaints against police officers and send text, voice, photo, and video messages. Every report submitted through the service is automatically registered in the Ministry’s information system, with users receiving real-time updates on the status of their submissions. To support these initiatives, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has established a Department of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. The department is tasked with integrating smart technologies into law enforcement. One of its flagship projects is the National Video Monitoring System, which uses video analytics to enhance street and public safety, including the ongoing development of the Safe City initiative. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, engineers in Karaganda unveiled three prototype unmanned aerial vehicles last year aimed at improving public safety across Kazakhstan.

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Kazakhstan Opens Criminal Probe Over Calls to Attack CPC Oil Pipeline

Kazakhstan has opened a criminal investigation into public statements that authorities say encouraged attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the main export route for the country’s crude oil, after months of disruption at the system’s Black Sea terminal turned a foreign security risk into a domestic legal and political issue. Prosecutor General Berik Asylov confirmed the case in a written reply to a parliamentary inquiry on January 6. "On December 17, 2025, the Astana City Police Department launched a pre-trial investigation under Part 1 of Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (incitement of social, national, tribal, racial, class, or religious discord) into negative public comments regarding damage to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium," the Prosecutor General stated. The authorities have yet to name suspects, publish the posts under review, or announce any arrests. The file remains at the evidence-gathering stage, and prosecutors have left open whether any charges will ultimately be filed under Article 174, or reclassified under other provisions once investigators assess the intent and impact. The probe follows a request by Mazhilis deputy, Aidos Sarym, who said that some social media commentary crossed from opinion into encouragement of harm to strategic infrastructure, endorsed attacks on the CPC, and urged further strikes on critical sites. The political sensitivity is rooted in the 1,500-kilometer pipeline’s central role in Kazakhstan’s economy. CPC carries crude from western Kazakhstan to a marine terminal near Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where the oil is loaded onto tankers for delivery to global markets. The pipeline is owned by a consortium that includes Kazakhstan, Russia, and several international energy companies. The system dominates Kazakhstan’s oil export economy. More than 80% of the country’s crude oil exports move through the CPC route, which also carries more than 1% of global oil supplies, making it a pressure point for both markets and state revenue when operations are disrupted. The investigation follows a period of repeated disruption at the Novorossiysk terminal in late 2025, after a naval drone strike damaged one of the offshore loading points used to transfer oil from the pipeline to tankers. The damage forced operators to suspend loadings and move vessels away while inspections and repairs were carried out, sharply reducing export capacity. The CPC relies on single-point moorings positioned at sea to load crude onto tankers, a critical constraint on the entire system; when one goes offline, capacity drops quickly. The pipeline cannot store large volumes, forcing upstream producers to cut or slow output. By late December, the impact was visible in Kazakhstan’s production figures. Oil output fell by about 6% during the month after the late November strike constrained exports. Production at the Tengiz oilfield, the country’s largest, dropped by roughly 10%. Exports of CPC Blend crude fell to about 1.08 million barrels per day in December, the lowest level in more than a year, as the terminal operated with only one functioning mooring while others remained offline due to damage and maintenance. Operational pressures continued as...

Digital Fraud Prevention

Kazakhstan Introduces Mandatory Biometric ID for Mobile Phone Subscribers

Kazakhstan is implementing mandatory biometric identification for all new mobile phone subscribers as part of broader efforts to combat telephone and internet fraud, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has announced. The ministry noted that the country already enforces several measures to address SIM card misuse, including efforts to prevent fraud, illegal SIM registration, and the use of devices for mass calls and bulk messaging. From the start of 2026, these safeguards will be tightened further. Under the new regulations, SIM cards will only be issued after biometric identification is completed. Communication services will not be activated until the subscriber's identity is verified through facial scanning. The policy applies to both individuals and legal entities. “For businesses and organizations, this requirement also applies to employees issued SIM cards for work-related purposes. Biometric identification eliminates anonymous number usage and increases accountability,” the ministry stated. Authorities expect the measure to curb illegal SIM sales via dealers and intermediaries. Regardless of where a number is purchased, service activation will only occur once the end user’s identity is confirmed. Additionally, a cap has been introduced on the number of SIM cards that can be registered to a single individual: up to ten for personal and family use. Exceeding this limit requires documented justification and identification of the devices in which the extra SIMs will be used. “This approach reduces the risk of mass SIM registration, a hallmark of fraudulent operations,” the ministry added. A key component of the new anti-fraud framework is the expansion of collaboration between mobile operators and the Anti-Fraud Center of the National Bank of Kazakhstan. This cooperation is intended to ensure the swift identification and deactivation of numbers linked to criminal activity. “In the case of suspicious calls or SMS messages, including those made using SIM boxes, telecom operators will relay subscriber information to the National Bank's Anti-Fraud Center and launch an investigation. If fraud is confirmed, the number will be blocked immediately and telecom services suspended,” the ministry explained. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan also intends to introduce joint liability for banks and mobile operators in cases of internet fraud perpetrated through their infrastructure.

AZAL Plane Crash

Russia Closes Criminal Case Into AZAL Plane Crash Near Aktau

Russia has closed its criminal investigation into the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft near Aktau, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Baku, according to Azerbaijani news outlet Minval Politika. Citing Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, the outlet reported that a letter from Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, notifying Baku of the case's closure caused “serious surprise” on the Azerbaijani side. Bayramov stated that Azerbaijan had issued a detailed and principled response to the letter and expects the process to proceed in accordance with public commitments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe, as well as bilateral agreements between the two countries. The announcement came just days after Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport issued an interim update on its own investigation into the December 2024 crash of the Embraer E190 aircraft operated by AZAL. The update noted that accredited representatives from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Brazil are participating in the probe, alongside an observer from the International Civil Aviation Organization. The crash occurred on December 25, 2024, when the aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Baku to Grozny. After multiple failed landing attempts in Grozny, the crew diverted to Aktau, on Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea coast. The plane reportedly circled the airfield twice before crashing near the runway and catching fire. Of the 67 people aboard, 62 passengers and five crew members, 38 were killed. The remaining 29 survived, including two members of the flight crew. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport emphasized that the sole objective of its ongoing investigation is to determine the causes and contributing factors of the accident to prevent similar incidents in the future. The final report, including safety recommendations, will be released once all technical analyses are complete. In September, The Times of Central Asia reported that Russia had begun disbursing insurance payments related to the crash. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that AlfaStrakhovanie JSC, one of Russia’s largest insurers and currently under Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, began issuing compensation in February 2025. Azerbaijan Airlines reportedly received full compensation of 1.003 billion rubles (approximately $12.3 million) for the aircraft. Additionally, insurance claims related to injuries and fatalities among 46 of the 62 passengers had been settled. These included payments to seven of the 15 Russian citizens, 35 of the 38 Azerbaijani citizens, all three Kyrgyz citizens, and one of the six Kazakh citizens on board. As of that date, total insurance payouts to injured passengers and the families of those killed amounted to 358.4 million rubles. Russia’s decision does not affect the ongoing technical investigation being led by Kazakhstan.

Asset Recovery

Kazakhstan Claims Success in Asset Recovery, But Transparency Questions Linger

Kazakhstan’s authorities have presented the results of the campaign to recover illegally acquired or transferred assets as a major success. In September 2025, during his address to the nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signaled a transition from asset recovery to broader investor-protection priorities. According to Prosecutor General Berik Asylov, recoveries totaling hundreds of billions of tenge have been returned to the state since the launch of the asset-recovery campaign. This includes not only cash and securities, but also land plots, business assets, and luxury property. Overall, official estimates put the total value of assets clawed back under the campaign at around 1.2–1.3 trillion tenge (roughly $2.3 billion), though only part of this amount has been directly credited to the state budget. A tax on indulgence When the law “On the Return of Illegally Acquired Assets to the State” was adopted in 2023, it was presented not merely as a fiscal tool but as a means of restoring historical justice. As part of the concept of building a “Fair Kazakhstan,” the authorities promised that assets once hidden in offshore accounts or invested in luxury real estate abroad would be redirected toward social development. Two years later, it is clear that the assets have indeed been returned. Yet instead of a transparent process in which citizens could clearly see how recovered funds were being used, the system has created a dense layer of bureaucracy. Money has been accumulated in the Special State Fund (SSF), the operating mechanisms of which continue to raise questions among experts. Despite official reports highlighting the construction of social facilities financed with seized assets, public debate over the transparency of the fund has not subsided. The authorities have also declined to publish the names of former asset owners or detailed information on specific accounts, enterprises, or land plots transferred to the state. A defining feature of the campaign was the rejection of a purely punitive approach. Instead, the government introduced a mechanism of “voluntary return,” effectively offering members of the elite a compromise: return swathes of your illegally acquired wealth, and the state will refrain from pursuing past offenses. The law clearly defined the target group, focusing on individuals owning assets valued at more than 13 million MCI, or roughly $100 million. This ensured pressure on large capital holders while shielding medium-sized businesses. At the same time, the closed nature of the list created a powerful instrument of leverage over the business elite. Experts have described this approach as a “tax on indulgence.” Rather than engaging in lengthy and uncertain international legal battles over offshore assets, Astana has opted for pretrial settlements. In legal terms, this takes the form of procedural agreements in which suspects acknowledge wrongdoing, return assets, and receive reduced sentences or exemption from liability. The most prominent and controversial example is the case of Kairat Satybaldy, a nephew of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. After returning assets reportedly worth approximately $1.4 billion, he received a reduced sentence and was released ahead of schedule. From a fiscal standpoint,...

Medical Workers

Kazakhstan Increases Criminal Penalties for Attacks on Medical Workers

Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (lower house of parliament) has approved amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes aimed at strengthening penalties for violence and threats against medical personnel, including doctors, paramedics, and ambulance drivers, while on duty. The legislation introduces a new article establishing specific criminal liability for actions that endanger the life, health, and safety of medical workers. The law also defines penalties based on the severity of the offense. For threats of violence, penalties include: A fine of 200 to 500 monthly calculation indices (MCI), with 1 MCI currently equivalent to $7.66; Or corrective labor in the same amount; Or community service for up to 300 hours; Or restriction or deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years. If the threats occur under aggravating circumstances, the punishment increases to 2-3 years of restricted freedom or imprisonment. For acts of violence not posing a risk to life or health, penalties include: A fine of 500 to 1,000 MCI; Or corrective labor; Or community service for up to 600 hours; Or restriction or deprivation of liberty for 2-3 years. The most serious offenses, violence that endangers life or health, carry prison sentences of 5 to 10 years. If aggravating factors are present, the term increases to 7 to 12 years. The amendments also clarify the jurisdiction of internal affairs bodies, granting them authority to conduct preliminary investigations and inquiries into cases involving attacks on medical workers. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 280 assaults on healthcare personnel have been recorded in Kazakhstan since 2019. In tandem with the legal changes, the government is expanding protective measures. Round-the-clock police posts have been established at 152 hospitals nationwide. In Astana and Almaty, a pilot project has equipped 10 ambulance teams with smart video badges. The Ministry of Health reports that these devices have helped reduce conflicts with patients by 90%. In July, The Times of Central Asia reported that Kazakhstan’s health minister had demanded an end to violence against medical workers, saying attacks on doctors and ambulance crews had crossed a “red line” and threatened the safety of the profession.