The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced that the Financial Ombudsman Service Council elected ombudsmen for the banking, microfinance, insurance and securities sectors on Sept. 30. The appointments precede the Jan. 1, 2027, launch of a unified service that will combine the existing banking, microfinance and insurance ombudsman institutions and extend consumer protection to brokerage services. Maria Khadzhieva was elected chief financial ombudsman and, concurrently, financial ombudsman for the securities market. Ruslan Ibragimov was appointed banking ombudsman, Nazgul Yesteusizova microfinance ombudsman, and Kanat Aligulov ombudsman for the insurance sector and securities market, as identified in the release. The unified service will handle consumer complaints free of charge, resolve financial product disputes before court proceedings and support debt settlement for individual borrowers based on their financial capacity. Priorities include digitalizing processes, expanding individual and collective debt resolution through tools including the Finkelisim.kz platform, and working with the Debt Free Society project. Complaint analysis will also be used to identify systemic problems and recurring practices by supervised entities and develop proposals to strengthen consumer protection.
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market announces ombudsman appointments ahead of unified service launch
Kazakhstan’s financial regulator announced sectoral ombudsman appointments ahead of the unified Financial Ombudsman Service’s launch on Jan. 1, 2027. The service will combine existing ombudsman institutions, extend protection to brokerage services and provide free complaint handling, pre-court dispute resolution and support for borrower debt settlement.