The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan published an update on measures to protect consumers from credit fraud, including legislative protections already in force for victims of “fraudulent loans” and additional amendments being considered in Parliament. Existing rules include a requirement from 20 August 2024 for creditors to suspend interest accrual and debt-collection (claims) work throughout investigative actions on fraudulent loans. Claims against a client for a fraudulent loan must be terminated based on a final court decision confirming the loan was taken fraudulently without the client’s involvement. From 1 September 2024, creditors must write off debt on illegally issued loans during the period when a citizen has enabled voluntary refusal of borrowing via the “Stop-credit” service. The Agency also cautioned that social-media claims that fraudulent loans are automatically written off are false. The Agency reported that deputies have initiated further amendments, including a 24-hour cooling-off period for online loans and a prohibition on banks and microfinance organisations from having first-time borrowers sign a loan agreement without an in-person visit to the creditor’s branch. The draft bill under Senate review also envisages strengthening the National Bank’s Anti-fraud Centre by adding mobile network operators and law enforcement and special state bodies to speed up identification and blocking of fraudulent numbers and transactions, restricting access to financial services for people placed on the Centre’s blacklist, and introducing telecom measures such as limits on the number of SIM cards, mandatory biometric identification of subscribers and tighter oversight of SIM boxes.
Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan 2025-05-20
Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan sets out tighter treatment of fraudulent loans and draft anti-fraud measures before the Senate
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of Kazakhstan announced measures against credit fraud, including existing protections and proposed amendments. Current rules require suspending interest and debt collection on fraudulent loans during investigations, with write-offs for illegally issued loans. Proposed amendments include a 24-hour cooling-off period for online loans, mandatory in-person visits for first-time borrowers, and enhanced anti-fraud measures with mobile operators and law enforcement.