AML/CFT Compliance in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan AML/CFT Law — scope and obligations

Law No. 191-IV imposes compliance obligations on a broad range of entities including banks, non-bank financial institutions, payment organisations, real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones and, in the cases listed in Article 3, accountants and lawyers. Obligated entities must conduct customer due diligence (CDD), maintain records, report suspicious transactions to the Financial Monitoring Agency, and implement internal control programmes.

Financial Monitoring Agency and supervisors

The Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the authorised body under the Law. It collects, processes and analyses information on transactions subject to financial monitoring, including suspicious transaction reports, coordinates the state bodies working against money laundering, and passes information to law enforcement bodies (Law No. 191-IV, Art. 16). Compliance by each type of reporting entity is supervised by the state body competent for that sector; for AIFC participants, the AFSA supervises jointly with the Agency (Art. 14). Bond Stone advises on dealing with the Agency and the sector supervisor, inspections and their enquiries.

KYC/CDD obligations

Obligated entities must conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) on clients before establishing a business relationship or conducting a covered transaction. KYC/CDD requirements include: identification and verification of the client; identification of beneficial owners holding more than 25% of the entity or otherwise controlling it; understanding the nature and purpose of the business relationship; and ongoing monitoring of transactions. Enhanced due diligence (EDD) applies to high-risk clients including PEPs, high-risk jurisdictions, and complex ownership structures.

Beneficial ownership disclosure

Kazakhstan law requires the disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) in the context of company registration, banking relationships, and AML/CFT compliance. A beneficial owner is an individual who directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of the entity, controls it in another way, or for whose benefit transactions are carried out (Art. 1(3)). The Law also provides for a state register of beneficial owners, and a change of beneficial owner is notified to the registrar (Law No. 2198, Art. 14-2). Bond Stone advises on structuring beneficial ownership disclosure for complex international holding structures and ensuring compliance with Kazakhstan's UBO identification and verification requirements.

FATF and international compliance

Kazakhstan is a member of EAG (Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering) and participates in FATF mutual evaluation processes. Kazakhstan's AML/CFT framework is assessed against FATF standards, and the outcome of FATF evaluations can affect Kazakhstan's international banking relationships. Bond Stone advises on FATF-aligned compliance frameworks for entities seeking to maintain or expand international correspondent banking relationships.