A court in Taraz has invalidated a microloan worth nearly one million tenge that had been fraudulently issued in a woman's name, infohub.kz reports.

According to the official Telegram channel of the courts of Zhambyl Region, the regional court heard a civil appeal in a case brought by a woman seeking to have a microloan agreement declared invalid.

In May 2024, the plaintiff and a bank concluded a microloan agreement for 999,000 tenge. The rights under the agreement were later assigned to a microfinance organization (MFO).

The court of first instance established that the plaintiff had not taken out the microloan herself, had not consented to it, and had not used the money. The lawsuit was prompted by circumstances established in an earlier court ruling that had entered into force, issued by the Turar Ryskulov District Court.

According to that ruling, another woman was found guilty of fraud and admitted that she had taken out the disputed microloan. She explained that she had used the plaintiff's mobile phone and personal data without her consent and had disposed of the funds as she saw fit.

The defendant did not admit the claim, stating that the application had been submitted electronically, the borrower's identity had been confirmed through biometric identification, and a one-time code had been entered from a trusted phone number.

The court noted that biometrics can establish identity but does not by itself confirm a person's genuine intent to enter into a transaction. The court also took into account that several microloans had previously been issued in the plaintiff's name in the same manner at other MFOs. After the materials were referred to law enforcement and a guilty verdict was handed down, the information on those loans was annulled and the debt was written off.

The court concluded that the disputed agreement had been concluded as a result of deception and abuse of trust by a third party.

By a decision of the Taraz City Court, the microloan agreement was declared invalid, and the defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff court fees and the costs of legal representation. The organization appealed the decision, but the judicial panel for civil cases of the Zhambyl Regional Court upheld it.

The court rulings have entered into force.