The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan published an update on amendments to Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code that explicitly bring collection agency employees within the scope of criminal liability for certain abuses committed when interacting with debtors and their representatives. The agency noted that Article 5 of the Law on Collection Activities sets rules for permissible methods of interaction, including frequency and timing, requirements to inform debtors and or their representatives of their rights and obligations, establishing the interaction process, and personal data protection. It also prohibits unfair actions by collection agencies, with administrative liability provided under Article 211-1 of the Administrative Offences Code. Against this backdrop, amendments to Criminal Code Articles 251 and 252 add collection agency employees to the list of persons subject to criminal liability, including for misuse of powers contrary to their duties where it causes significant harm, and for exceeding powers in circumstances such as violence or threats, threats to destroy or damage property, falsification of documents, or extortion. The maximum sanctions cited include fines of up to 4,000 monthly calculation indices (AEK) under Article 251 and up to 5,000 AEK under Article 252, alongside potential bans on holding certain positions or carrying out certain activities for up to five years, and custodial or non-custodial penalties. The changes were introduced by the 16 July 2025 law amending various legislative acts on optimising criminal legislation and take effect from 16 September 2025.

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