In the North Kazakhstan region, a man who engaged in illegal entrepreneurial and microfinance activities without a license has been sentenced to two years of restricted freedom, reports infohub.kz.
According to the official Telegram channel of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM), the investigation established 78 episodes of illegal lending. Typically, borrowers were citizens in dire need of money who could not obtain bank financing.
Two schemes were used for lending. In the first case, a loan agreement was notarized, but the actual terms of the deal were not reflected in it. The amount included both the funds issued to the borrower and interest for the entire loan period. Property was pledged as collateral to secure repayment.
In the second case, the loan was disguised as a sale and purchase agreement. The money for the property was not actually transferred, and the property itself was used as collateral for the loan. After the money was returned, the contract was terminated and the property was returned to the owner.
Thus, under the guise of civil law transactions, systematic issuance of money at interest and with property collateral was actually carried out.
As a result of illegal activities, criminal income of 774 million tenge was obtained, which was used to purchase expensive assets. By court verdict, 6 apartments, a Toyota RAV4, a Kawasaki KLX250 motorcycle, and securities worth 280 million tenge were confiscated to the state, the AFM said.
The court verdict has not yet entered into legal force.