Starting August 25, Kazakhstan introduces a new procedure for alimony payments. Funds will be transferred exclusively to special bank accounts, ensuring their safety, reports infohub.kz.
As explained by the Ministry of Justice, the innovation applies to alimony recipients who already have enforcement proceedings underway. Previously, alimony payments had no special legal status and were mixed with other funds in the account, making them difficult to identify.
“Previously, bank accounts receiving alimony payments had no special legal protection. The money received as alimony was mixed with the recipient's other funds, making it unclear which part was alimony and which was the recipient's own money,” explained Gauhar Doszhanova, head of the department for control over private bailiffs at the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan.
The special account existed before but was not mandatory. Now it is designed to further protect alimony payments: by law, funds in such an account cannot be seized, guaranteeing their availability for the support of a child or a disabled person.
“We are conducting informational work with alimony recipients. They must open these special accounts in second-tier banks,” said Erlan Ontaev, deputy chairman of the Republican Chamber of Private Bailiffs.
Second-tier banks are obliged to open a special account upon the applicant's request; some offer this service online. The absence of an account does not relieve the debtor of obligations, but until the details are provided, transferring funds is impossible. In such a case, the bailiff will notify the claimant of the need to open an account, and after the details are provided, the money will be transferred. The debt is not reset and continues to accumulate.
According to the Ministry of Justice, there are over 300,000 enforcement proceedings for alimony collection, about 12,000 of which are problematic. The total amount of debt reaches 19 billion tenge. Meanwhile, 97% of alimony payers are men.