The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan published a memo for consumers on what to do if a loan is fraudulently taken out in their name, including the process for getting interest accrual and collection activity paused and the circumstances in which banks and microfinance organizations must write off the debt and update credit records. Victims are instructed to immediately notify the bank or microfinance organization to block cards, accounts and app access and to register the incident, then file a police report (including via eGov or eOtinish) with supporting evidence such as screenshots, messages and account statements. Suspending interest, penalties and recovery requires a law enforcement procedural document confirming the suspected fraud, either a decision recognising the borrower as a victim under Criminal Procedure Code Article 71 or a submission under Article 200 sent directly to the creditor, and the document must specify the loan date, amount and creditor name. Once the creditor receives the police document, it must within three calendar days stop charging interest and penalties and suspend debt collection and claims work; if the creditor refuses, the memo directs consumers to complain to the Agency via eOtinish with the refusal and police document attached. Write-off is described as non-automatic and permitted only where law enforcement and or a court confirms the fraud and victim status and lender breaches are established. For out-of-court write-offs, the memo lists breaches including absence of biometric identification for online lending, lending despite a recorded voluntary refusal, breaches of age limits (loans issued without consent to persons under 21 or over 55 via eGov-integrated channels), online origination of a first unsecured consumer loan above 150 AEK (banks) or 75 AEK (microfinance organizations) without in-person contact, and failure to observe waiting periods before disbursement (at least eight hours for bank loans of 150 to 255 AEK, 24 hours for bank loans above 255 AEK, and 24 hours for microcredits above 75 AEK), with limited exceptions such as direct payment to a seller or repayment of debt at the same lender. Where the conditions are met and procedural documents are available, the creditor must within three working days of identifying the breach write off the debt, amend the credit history and refund withheld amounts; if write-off follows a court decision, these steps must be completed within 10 working days after the decision enters into force.
Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan 2025-09-29
Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan issues guidance on fraudulent loans and creditor deadlines to suspend charges and write off debt
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of Kazakhstan issued a memo on addressing fraudulent loans, including pausing interest and collections upon fraud confirmation. It outlines conditions for debt write-off, requiring law enforcement or court confirmation of fraud and lender breaches, with specific procedures for both out-of-court and court-ordered write-offs.